KOCHI: The murder of Eva Antony, 17, and the subsequent statement by Syro-Malabar Church Synod that Christian girls have been targetted and killed in the name of ‘love jihad’ have once again brought to focus in Kerala the controversially coined term.
But for the Kerala police, it is really a catch-22 situation as probing a ‘love jihad’ angle in inter-religious love marriage is not that easy as it looks unless there is a complaint with cogent facts that the woman was forced to convert to another religion for marriage.
State Police Chief Loknath Behera said it was legally possible for the police to probe forceful conversion in an inter-religious marriage only if there is a complaint. “Altogether it is a complex issue. The police can register a case only if there is a complaint. We can successfully prosecute a person only if there is concrete evidence proving forceful conversion,” he said adding that the police have limitations when handling allegations of forceful conversions in inter-religious marriages.
It was in 2009 that the term ‘love jihad’ created a furore in the state when the Kerala High Court directed the then State Police Chief Jacob Punnoose to conduct a probe into any organised movement taking place to convert young non-Muslim girls into Islam after allegedly trapping them in love, promising marriage.
The High Court gave the directive while hearing bail applications of two Muslim youths who were accused of allegedly attempting to convert two non-Muslim girls into Islam after a love affair with them. Based on the directive, Jacob Punnoose conducted a probe and submitted before the court that “no conclusive evidence had been received about the existence of ‘love jihad’ movement”. He also submitted that no clear material was available to make an unambiguous statement on the truth of allegations of forced conversions.
However, in 2017, a report prepared by the state police came out stating that 23 young women professionals were converted to Islam in Thrissur district while the total number of converts in Palakkad was 139 in the past two years. The report, which presented a case study of a dozen conversion incidents in north Kerala, said the maximum conversions were taking place in Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thrissur.
The report also mentioned about ‘Dawa Squads,’ an organised wing that helps such conversions. Former State Police Chief TP Senkumar said there have been a couple of incidents in the state which the police can really look into ascertaining how young girls are being lured into love relations for religious conversions. “A detailed investigation can be done as there are a few victims who can give concrete statements,” he added.