Yet another case of grooming jihad, marriage under false pretext and triple talaq has emerged – this time from Narasinghpur district in Madhya Pradesh. Farukh Khan groomed a Hindu girl and they had a ‘love marriage’ in court in 2014. Now after eight years, he tried to divorce her using the banned triple talaq route and a complaint has been lodged at the Kareli police station. 

Based on the FIR lodged by the Hindu woman, who belongs to an SC community, at the time of the love marriage (which we assume was solemnized in court under Special Marriage Act that does not require inter-faith couples to convert their religion), Khan promised the victim that she does not have to change her religion. After their marriage, the victim continued her Hindu religious practices for ten days following which Khan began showing his true colors. He and his family wanted the victim to convert to Islam.

When she refused, she had to face physical abuse and mental torture at the hands of both Khan and her in-laws. Her in-laws reminded her that she and Khan had run away for a civil marriage and that she had not brought any dowry with her.

Soon, Khan’s family forced her to do namaz. She was coerced into not just cooking meat but also had to consume it, especially on Hindu festival and vrat (sacred fasting) days.

Since she had two minor girls (aged 3 and 5) and felt unable to return to her parent’s place, she somehow decided to put up with Khan and his family. The victim manages a small footwear shop. On March 22, around 8 in the evening when she was about to shut shop, Khan and her mother-in-law Shahidan approached her and accused her of having ‘an affair’. 

Khan added that both children were not his, and then said talaq-talaq-talaq (instant triple talaq, the now-banned method of Islamic divorce). He said she would have to do nikah halala if she wanted to come back as his wife. Her in-laws then slapped and assaulted her, threw her out of her marital home, and threatened to kill her. They wanted her to either accept Islam or come home with 2 lakh Rupees, as dowry.   

Nikah Halala is an Islamic practice where a Muslim man divorces his wife and later remarries the same lady. But there is a catch. After divorce, she first has to marry another Muslim man and sleep with him. After consummating the new marriage, she later gets divorced and remarries her old husband. Many Muslim clerics offer their ‘services’ for fulfillment of this tradition.

There are also reports that Khan’s family threatened the victim that she would never meet the children again. They also threatened her that the children would receive an Islamic upbringing.

Unable to bear the torture anymore, the victim went to the police and complained. Kareli police charged Khan and his parents with the MP Religious Freedom Act, 2021, the Muslim Women (Protection of rights on Marriage Act), 2019 and SC/ST Atrocity Act and other sections of IPC. 

Though the victim’s parents’ background remains unknown, one hopes that her parents and Hindu community come to her aid at this difficult time. Abandoning our girls who fall prey to such predators is not a solution to stop these crimes. The victim has a younger sister and brother. 

Until and unless the government and Hindu religious organizations come forward and build an ecosystem to warn Hindu society against such religiously-motivated hate crimes and take care of such victims, their future looks bleak. Islamists will continue to prey on such vulnerable ladies and they are often prone to exploitation. Strong laws are well and good but much more needs to be done.

Bharat’s Hindu heartland is now under threat from grooming jihad and several such cases are being reported from MP, each and every day. Some have even ended in murder.