LUCKNOW: The rumours of an alleged interfaith marriage in Kushinagar district led police to intervene and take the couple away to a police station on Tuesday. However, after allegedly keeping the couple overnight at the police station, the cops let them go following the arrival of girl’s kin who confirmed that she was a Muslim by birth and that no conversion had taken place.
As per the sources, while the groom Haider Ali, 39, alleged torture by the cops at Kasya police station in Kushinagar, the district police authorities denied the accusations saying that the couple was taken away after receiving a phone call that an inter-faith marriage was taking place wherein a Hindu woman had converted to Islam for the wedding.
Moreover, the police authorities later claimed that the action was also taken following a report of abduction of the bride lodged by her family in the Azamgarh district. The girl (bride) hailed from the Mubaraqpur locality of Azamgarh.
The police sources said that when the relatives of the girl arrived at the police station, substantiated her credentials, and gave consent for the wedding, the couple who had already tied the knot, were allowed to go.
Kasya Police Station SHO Sanjay Kumar claimed that the initial action was taken as the police were misled by some “miscreants” who claimed it was a case of conversion.
Refuting the charges of torture, Kushinagar SP VK Singh claimed that it was not any secret mission under which the couple was brought to the police station. “Also, the matter was sorted soon… There was no reason to beat up anyone,” said Kushinagar SP.
However, narrating the tale of woes, groom Haider Ali claimed that he and her partner Shabeela had already got their Nikah solemnised on Tuesday afternoon. He added that as a small get-together was on after the wedding, a police team from Kasya police station reached rejecting the solemnization of the wedding and took him and Shabeela (his wife) away to the police station in the evening.
The police sources said that they summoned the girl’s family who confirmed that she was a Muslim and that no conversion had taken place. Even the girl’s brother substantiated her credentials by producing her Adhaar Card.
As per the local sources, Ali had approached a social activist Arman Khan seeking his help to get married to Shabeela, who had run away from her parents’ home in Azamgarh. One Mustaqeem, the watchman of Ali’s village, had reportedly informed the cops about the wedding, said the sources.
Ever since Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion ordinance came into being on November 28, 2020, around 6-7 cases have been registered under it. Last week, a wedding between a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy was stopped in Lucknow by the police authorities despite the consent of both the families.
The couple was asked by the police authorities to approach the district magistrate letting him know that it was going to be an inter-faith marriage and that there was no forcible conversion. The couple was asked to tie the nuptial knot only after two months of informing the DM as per the provisions of the new ordinance.
Last Saturday, for instance, a Muslim man and his brother were held in Moradabad after he tried to get his marriage to a Hindu woman registered. The woman repeatedly told the police that she was getting married on her own free will.
The Moradabad case was the fifth to be lodged in Uttar Pradesh since the anti-conversion ordinance became law.
Uttar Pradesh, which has a significant Muslim population, has been first to pass an ordinance over anti-conversion law. According to the ordinance, a marriage will be declared null and void if a woman converts into a religion solely for marriage. Those wishing to change their religion after their wedding would need to apply to the district magistrate two months in advance.