An interfaith couple in Uttarakhand submitted a notice to SDM saying they intend to marry. Then, a nightmare began

The incident occurred despite the police protection given to the couple on Uttarakhand High Court’s December 16 orders. In their plea before the court, the couple said that they wanted to get married but couldn’t due to threats from Kandari’s mother and “other organisations”. They also alleged there was a “serious threat to their lives”,

In its ruling, the high court ordered police protection at Bazpur police station for six weeks, asking Bazpur Station House Officer to assess the threat perception and adopt suitable measures at the end of the period.

According to the couple, despite the orders, they continue to face opposition from right-wing groups – on January 30, outfits such as the Bajrang Dal accompanied Kandari’s mother to the local SDM office to “object to the marriage”.

In her letter to the SDM, Kandari’s mother Reena Devi sought her daughter’s “custody until the notice is examined”, saying that Shanu had lured and misled her under “love jihad”

“Aakansha testified before the office that she was marrying me of her own volition,” Shanu said.

The couple met through Facebook in 2018, meeting each other for the first time in 2022.

“When we decided to get married, I met her mother and brother. Initially, they were not happy, but we persuaded them later. Later, the Bajrang Dal (the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad) came to know and started pressuring her mother,” Shanu said, adding that the couple hopes to get their wedding certificate on February 7.

Their lawyer Rahul Adhikari claimed several inter caste and interfaith couples have approached the HC for protection over the last few years. “There is an intense politicisation surrounding such marriages and organisations getting involved,” he said.

Meanwhile, the threats have affected Shanu’s livelihood. “Earlier, I could work till 10 pm because people would come to the salon in the evening. Now, I have to shut my shop by 6 pm,” he said.

The Udham Singh Nagar VHP declined to comment and calls and messages to the district’s Bajrang Dal unit went unanswered. But in a video on Facebook on January 30, Udham Singh Nagar Bajrang Dal unit chief Yashpal Rajhans said that his karyakartas tried to convince Kandari, but she went ahead with her decision to marry Shanu.

“There are laws against love jihad in Uttarakhand. They went to the High Court for protection and applied to get married at the SDM office. We are objecting to this. Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad are standing up to stop this love jihad. We have not talked to the girl, but we got to know this from her family. Everyone should protect their sisters and daughters from those who impersonate and change their names,” he purportedly said in the video.