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‘Haven’t returned home since the attack’: MP man who was assaulted in courtroom over interfaith marriage
On February 8, the interfaith couple who visited a court in Bhopal to register their marriage was targeted by members of right-wing outfits, who accused the man of “love jihad”
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On February 8, an interfaith couple who visited a court in Bhopal to register their marriage was targeted by members of right-wing outfits. (Screengrab)When he arrived in Bhopal district court to get married to his lover, the 28-year-old JCB operator had trusted his lawyer to help register his marriage under the Special Marriage Act of 1954. Hours later a right-wing group descended on him and assaulted him in front of his partner, who was forcibly carried off to a waiting police vehicle despite her protests.
On February 8, an interfaith couple who visited a court in Bhopal to register their marriage was targeted by members of right-wing outfits, who assaulted the man and accused him of “love jihad”, after which he was arrested on charges of forcing the woman to change her religion. The incident was captured on video.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the man, a resident of Narsinghpur, now claims that it was his lawyer that alerted the ring-wing Sanskriti Bachao Manch to the couple’s presence in the courtroom. He also claims he now “fears for his life and demands police protection”.
“I haven’t returned home since the attack. My family and I are being targeted. I request police protection,” he said.
Recounting his ordeal, he said: “My fiancée contacted a lawyer for the court marriage. I paid Rs 35,000 upfront, but before the marriage could be registered, the lawyer called a group of people who began assaulting me. They accused me of forced conversion, but my fiancée repeatedly denied it. The lawyer even snatched my phone and allowed the mob to assault me further. I have been left humiliated, robbed, and without justice”.
The man alleged that the attack didn’t stop in the court premises. “After the initial assault, I was taken to the police outpost inside the court compound, where I was beaten again by the same group along with some lawyers. They forced me to perform public squats, stole Rs 10,000 cash from me, and demanded my phone’s password. If it weren’t for one police officer who transferred me to the MP Nagar police station, I could have been killed,” he said.
The man has filed a complaint with the police and named advocate Akshay Karan as complicit in orchestrating the attack. However, Karan denied the allegations, claiming that he neither took money from the couple nor contacted any right-wing group. “I am being targeted by several groups over this incident. I had nothing to do with this case and I do not know the man,” Karan said.
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The woman at the centre of the controversy has also denied allegations of forced conversion. However, her mother has accused the man of rape and coercion – both of which he denies.
“These accusations are false. The woman and I are adults and decided to marry on our own. This is retaliation over a past family dispute,” he said.
His lawyer Siraj Anwar said he will soon approach the court over the assault.
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