In a troubling incident in the Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh, a case of alleged Love Jihad has emerged, with a man named Shoaib accused of forcibly converting an 18-year-old Dalit girl to Islam. The victim’s father has disclosed that she endured sexual abuse and was coerced into consuming beef. Authorities confirmed on December 4 that a case had been registered and an investigation was underway. Notably, women are also implicated among the perpetrators.
The incident took place in a village near the Sursa police station in the Hardoi district. On June 17, Shoaib, a resident of Firozabad district, abducted the girl from Sonipat. Despite family efforts to locate her, she remained missing. The victim’s father, employed in a factory in Haryana’s Sonipat district, shared that on December 3, she returned to her Hardoi village on her own. She revealed that the offender took her to Firozabad, where she was compelled to convert to Islam and consume beef. Subsequently, she was forced into marriage and subjected to sexual violation by Shoaib and his entire family, enduring both physical and mental torture.
Seizing an opportunity on December 3, the girl went to her aunt’s house before returning to her village, where she narrated the entire ordeal to her family. The situation escalated when the culprit and his family forcefully attempted to take the teenager away from her home, resulting in a dispute. Local residents called the police on 112 to report the incident. Law enforcement swiftly intervened, arresting three individuals engaged in the dispute, while others fled upon seeing the police.
A case has been launched against Shoaib, Najma Khan, Aqib, Reshma, and Mehraj, along with five other unidentified individuals, based on the victim’s complaint. Charges include various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Uttar Pradesh Law Against Religious Conversion Act. Presently, three offenders are in police custody, and a search is underway for those who are absconding.
Nripendra Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police in Hardoi, assured that the matter is under investigation, and appropriate legal action will be taken. The police are actively pursuing the absconding offenders to ensure a comprehensive inquiry into this distressing case.
