Days after her friend, whom she was walking home with after a birthday party in Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, was hired with the one-month-old baby. anti-conversion law and charged with charges under the sections of the SC / ST Act, and the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO), the 16-year-old stands firm.
“I have said this to the magistrate and will tell him again. Those men had a problem because I was walking with my friend. They made videos of me and now they call it love jihad. I did not do anything wrong. I went of my own free will, “he said. The Indian Express.
At around 10:30 p.m. on December 14, the girl, a Dalit, and her former classmate, a Muslim, were walking home after a friend’s birthday party, when they were allegedly chased by a group of men, beaten with sticks and interrogated. When it became clear that they belonged to different religions, they were allegedly taken to a local police station.
The FIR, allegedly registered in a complaint by the girl’s father, stated that the accused “induced the girl to elope with him” with the “intention of marrying and converting her.”
However, the girl’s father has denied her complaint, claiming that the police issued the statement. “I completely trust my daughter. What wrong did she do? Why should it be part of politics? Is it illegal for a boy and a girl to walk together now?
The young man, who was later booked under the month-long anti-conversion law and kidnapping charges and under the sections of the SC / ST Law and the POCSO Law, is now in a jail in Bijnor.
While the police claim the man is 18 years old, his family members maintain that he is 17.
Arun Kumar, Officer at Station House, Dhampur, where the FIR was presented, said: “The accused is in judicial custody. If you are a minor, they will have to present documents to prove it. We have invoked the relevant sections in this case after questioning the girl and on the basis of her father’s complaint. “
Blaming the local pradhan for allegedly politicizing the incident, the girl’s father said: “This is all politics. They made videos of my daughter and falsely claimed that it was a case of amorous jihad. I have been pradhan before and was planning to race again. But now they have embarrassed my daughter and polarized the people, ”her father told The Indian Express.
Denying the father’s accusations, the pradhan said: “I was with the girl’s father when this case came to my attention. I helped them introduce the FIR. You must remember, hara hua pradhan hai (He is a pradhan who lost) ”.
A few kilometers from the girl’s house is a one-room brick house where the young man lived with his family, his four brothers and his mother.
“I just want to see my son again. The police have presented a false case against him, ”said the boy’s mother, folding her mat after her afternoon namaaz.
While his eldest son works as a day laborer, another works as a tailor in Dehradun. His youngest son, now in prison, used to work in Jalandhar before moving to Dehradun, where he earned 5,000 rupees a month as an apprentice welder. Her husband died a year ago of heart problems. The family claims that the young man, who dropped out after Class 3, is a minor but has no documents to prove it.
The mother says that when she fell ill with typhoid fever, she called her youngest son in Dehradun and asked him to visit her. It came on December 9.
“On December 14, my son left for the night, saying he was going to attend a birthday party and that he would not be home for dinner. Now they accuse him of converting a girl to Islam. This is completely false, ”her mother said.
“Everything is ruined for us this year. Now we have to raise money to fight this case, ”said the young man’s brother.
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