NEW DELHI: Four police personnel stand guard outside the sprawling house in the posh Raj Nagar locality of Ghaziabad, where palatial bungalows line clean streets which have little traffic.
The men in khaki are the only sign left of the ruckus created a day before by local activists of the BJP and Bajrang Dal protesting against the marriage of a Hindu woman with a Muslim man.
The bride, the groom and their families were perfectly happy with the match, but for the right wing activists it was ‘love jihad’.
Local residents fail to understand why Ajay Sharma, president of the Ghaziabad city unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Bajrang Dal members were objecting to the nuptials.
“The girl and boy are both adults. They met and married, and the families also do not have a problem. Then who are the BJP members, or anyone for that matter, to get in and create a drama? Intruding into someone’s personal affairs just for the sake of creating a ruckus is unjustified,” said a resident of the area who did not wish to be named. The police believe that one of the guests invited to the wedding might have informed the saffron groups of the wedding.
“I had to close my shop for the entire day due to the ruckus. At least 50 people collected near the entrance of the sector and started shouting slogans. Many of the protesters came in six-seater and eight-seater vehicles and SUVs. A few came on bikes, and it seemed like a planned affair,” said Vinod, who runs an eatery just 100 metres from the house where the wedding reception took place on Friday.
“I shut shop fearing damage, but the police action was swift. My view is that both of them are adults, and they know what is right or wrong. Also, as I have heard, no conversion of the girl took place, and the boy even offered to have a Hindu wedding ceremony, so I do not see any problem,” Vinod added.
The two-storey bungalow, belonging to the bride’s family, was decked up that morning for the evening event. Seats for the bride and the groom and a buffet dinner were arranged in the lawns.
“The wedding reception was for the younger daughter of the two. It was supposed to happen in the evening, and the decoration took place in the morning, which was when a few people arrived and said that they wanted to meet the owner, without revealing the purpose of their visit. When we stopped them, they tried to force their way in, which is when we informed the owners, who called the police,” said a member of the domestic staff who has been working with the family for more than a decade.
The atmosphere inside was tense when the protesters tried to barge in, said the staff member.
The families of the bride and the groom collected in the house after the police dispersed the protesters, and ‘jayamala’, an essential ritual in a Hindu wedding, was performed, after which the guests had dinner.
“Now the situation is calm and peaceful. Yesterday, around 50 people tried to enter the house. We did our duty. When two people who are mature want to get married, it is their personal affair,” said Inspector Vipin Choudhary of Ghaziabad Police, who is posted at the house.
“We took action after we got the distress call from the family. The action was as per the law. The bride and the groom are adults and have a right to marry whoever they want. We have heard the protesters also, and if needed, legal action will be taken after the inquiry is completed,” said H N Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad.