'Love Jihad' case in Rajasthan: Family wants girl married Muslim back
Jaipur: In yet another alleged case of 'love jihad', a family in border district of Barmer in Rajasthan has filed FIR to bring back its 18-year old daughter who converted to Islam and married a Kashmiri boy in December last year.
However, Ritu alias Zeenab kept her family in the dark about the marriage and continued to live with her parents until March 16 when she left home on the pretext of going to her sister's house in Varodara instead she reached Kashmir.
Her parents filed the missing person's report on March 19. The police traced the girl in Kupwara district in Jammu& Kashmir. A police team had gone to Kupwara but found that the couple had sought protection from J&K high court, which directed the police in Kashmir and Barmer not to act against them.
As per the documents received with the HC order, Ritu Khandelwal converted to Islam on her own will and became Zeenab.
The documents show that Khandelwal converted to Islam on December 27 last year and married Khan on December 30 according to Islamic rituals.
The Police said the woman came in contact with the Kashmiri man when he was working at a coffee house in Barmer for a few years but left about five months ago. "On her family's complaint we traced the girl through her cell number to Kupwara. Our team had gone to Kashmir but the J&K High Court order restrained us. Now, we have sent one more police team since the girl's family has provided some evidences " Amar Singh Ratnu, SHO, Kotwali police station said.
Last year, a family in Jodhpur has approached the high court with habeas corpus petition for their missing daughter. But, when the 22-year-old girl Payal Singhvi alias Aarifa was traced and produced before the court she said that she had converted to Islam and married on her own will to her childhood friend Faiz Modi. Her family had alleged that it was a case of 'love jihad' and she was blackmailed by Faiz to marry him.
The high court had initially sent her to women's shelter but later when he girl remained firm on her statement and wished to go to her husband's house, the court allowed her to live with her husband accepting her right to exercise her will as she was an adult.
