Muslim man held for posing as Hindu to marry girl in UP's Kannauj

KANPUR: A Muslim man was arrested in Kannauj on Saturday for allegedly concealing his religious identity and posing as Hindu and fraudulently marrying a local Hindu girl.
Kannauj Police registered a case against the man under the new UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020.
On Friday, the girl’s father had lodged a complaint at Gursahaiganj Kotwali police station against the man for concealing his religious identity and fraudulently marrying his daughter, alleging it to be a case of ‘Love Jihad’.
In his complaint, the girl’s father, who runs a tailoring shop in Kannauj, said a Muslim man, identified as Taufeeq, had befriended his daughter, a teacher, on internet using fake Hindu name Rahul Verma and claiming to be from Lucknow about two years ago.
“Later, on the insistence of his daughter, he had fixed her marriage with the man. He even got his wedding invitation printed with fake name Rahul Verma and the marriage was solemnised on December 10 in Lucknow as per Hindu rituals. Only the family members of the girl side were present in the wedding. When the girl’s family enquired about his family members, he said he was not on good terms with them and hence hadn’t invited them,” said a police official privy to the investigations.
“The fraud came to light when he shared his marital status on the internet and a relative posted greetings asking when his ‘nikah’ ceremony was held,” he added. The girl’s father then lodged a written complaint at Gursahaiganj Kotwali police station. “We initiated an investigation on the complaint. A police team swung into action and brought him for questioning, during which he revealed his true identity as Tauseef. The charges against the accused were found to be true so we booked him under the anti-conversion law and arrested him. He will be sent to jail,” said inspector Kotwali Raja Dinesh Singh.
On Friday, a group of BJP leaders and activists had gone to the Kotwali police station and staged a protest demanding swift action and arrest of the accused.
Police officials gave them an assurance that an inquiry would be conducted into the matter. BJP district vice-president Jeetu Tiwari said, “This is a clear case of love jihad. We had protested at Kotwali police station in this regard on Friday. Muslim youths are brainwashing Hindu girls and converting them.” Under the new law, a man and woman from different religions have to give two months’ notice to the district magistrate before they get married and will be given permission if there are no objections.