Karni Sena activists prevent interfaith marriage in UP's Ballia
(Sourced from PTI)
Activists of right wing Karni Sena allegedly prevented an interfaith marriage in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia and created a ruckus at a court before forcibly taking the couple to a police station, officials said. A video purportedly showing the commotion created by the activists surfaced online on Thursday in which the 18-year-old Dalit woman can be heard saying she was marrying the Muslim man willingly.
However, her father lodged a complaint with the police against the man, Dilshad, who has been booked on charges of kidnapping, police said. Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada said the woman's statement will be recorded in the court and lawful action will be taken. He said no love jihad angle, as alleged by the Karni Sena activists, has come to the fore so far.
The police officer did not respond to questions on the alleged ruckus created by the Karni Sena activists. Dilshad, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Padri village under the Ubhaon Police Station, had gone for a court marriage on Wednesday with the Dalit woman of a village under the same police station, police said on Thursday.
The woman was wearing a burqa. The Karni Sena activists who were present there stopped the two and started questioning them. They claimed the woman was a minor and called it a case of love jihad, a term used by right wing outfits to allege marriage for conversion. The video also shows some people threatening Dilshad.
The Karni Sena workers forcibly took the couple to Kotwali Police Station in Ballia city and created a ruckus there too. A case of kidnapping was registered against Dilshad at the Ubhaon Police Station on Wednesday night on the complaint of the woman's father, police said. Ubhaon Police Station in-charge Gyaneshwar Mishra said they are investigating the matter.
