Maharashtra: Wedding reception of interfaith couple called off as right-wing activists protest

Chavhanke linked the wedding of the interfaith couple in Vasai (West) to the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar, who was allegedly murdered and chopped into 35 pieces by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi. Both Shraddha and Aaftab were residents of Vasai (West).

In the process, Chavhanke also spread wrong information that the interfaith couple was getting married, though the invitation card clearly mentioned it was a reception and not a wedding.

Over 12,000 people retweeted and liked Chavhanke’s by Friday night. By Saturday evening, it trended further with 10,200 likes, 5,481 retweets and over 2,000 comments on the post.

हत्यारे अफताब के वसई में ही अब “ इमरान और दिव्या” का होने जा रहा है निकाह/ विवाह का निमंत्रण सार्वजनिक हैं। उसी ग्राम के “अफताब ने श्रध्दा” के 35 टुकड़े करने के ह्रदय विदारक अपराध के बाद भी यह कैसे होने जा रहा हैं ? #LoveJihad_ActOfTerrorism #LoveJihad #Shraddha pic.twitter.com/8gwmwYVkzm

— Suresh Chavhanke “Sudarshan News” (@SureshChavhanke) November 18, 2022

The reception was to take place at Vishwakarma hall in Vasai (West) at 6.30 pm on Friday. But as Chavhanke’s tweet became viral, right wing activists started calling up the hall owner from across the country. Finally, the reception was cancelled.

When The Sunday Express visited the Vishwakarma hall on Saturday, the owner refused to speak on the issue. “I am a small-time businessman. I do not want any trouble and just want to do my business. Several media channels came here but we did not speak to anyone. I have no complaints against anyone and I do not wish to approach the police,” he said.

An employee from the hall’s management said, “We received over 25 calls from across India, including a few from Uttar Pradesh. Even today, we have kept our phones on silent mode and received over 30 missed calls. We are losing business due to this.”

The employee said it at first, it was clarified to several callers that no wedding was taking place and it was instead a reception for which the hall had been booked two months ago, long before the news of Shraddha’s murder broke. “We said that ‘this couple had a court marriage a few days ago and kept a reception for their near and dear ones’,” the employee added.

But the calls did not stop. The employee said the management then spoke to the inter-faith couple, “who too said that it’s better to call it off”. “We returned their money and they said they will host the reception somewhere else. We do not see the religion of couples before renting out halls. For us, all are clients. This hall was established in 1989 and till today, we had not faced such an issue. We heard they are big people (those opposing) and we do not want any issue. We are not interested in going to the police,” said a person from the management.

Despite repeated attempts, the bride did not respond to calls and messages.

When contacted, an officer from Manikpur police station, said, “We are aware of the post made by Chavhanke but we have neither received any complaint from the inter-faith couple nor from the hall management. Hence, we cannot initiate any action.”