Beaten in Bhopal court over interfaith marriage, man arrested; no FIR against his assailants

The assault on the man, which took place in a busy courtroom, was captured on video, which has since spread online.

According to police officers, right-wing groups went to the court premises after being tipped off by “sources” about the couple deciding to register their marriage.

The man, a resident of Narsinghpur, had travelled to Bhopal with the woman, but could not complete the court formalities, police officers said.

Chandra Shekhar Tiwari, president of the Sanskriti Bachao Manch, which was among the groups who sent members to the court, alleged that the man had “multiple photographs and contact numbers of Hindu women on his phone and had coerced his partner into marriage”.

The group demanded that the police “charge the man under sections of rape”.

Bhopal ACP Akshay Chaudhary confirmed the incident and said the couple had come to Bhopal to marry under the Special Marriage Act.

“The couple was first taken under our custody and questioned. Their statements were taken down. The woman told us that she was being forced to marry him and change her religion,” he said.

According to sources, on Friday evening, the woman’s mother told police that the man had been pestering her daughter for the last three years.

The man has been booked under section 3/5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021. Police said they have contacted his local police station to investigate any previous criminal records.

A senior police officer said, “No FIR has been registered against the attackers in the video. There is no complaint against them. The man has not given a statement against the attackers so far.”