Interfaith couple who went to register marriage assaulted in Madhya Pradesh court

An interfaith couple was allegedly assaulted inside a court in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district, The Indian Express reported on Friday.

A Muslim man and a Hindu woman had gone to the court to register their marriage. The incident took place after the woman, who was wearing a burqa, revealed her name.

Suspecting a case of “love jihad”, some lawyers demanded to see the man’s Aadhaar card. They allegedly assaulted him after finding out that he was a Muslim, the newspaper quoted the police as saying.

“Love jihad” is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that accuses Muslim men of being part of an organised plot to trick Hindu women into romantic relationships to ultimately convert them to Islam. The Union home ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining such a term.

“The woman had a Hindu name but was dressed in a burqa, so they got angry,” Civil Lines Station House Officer Kamlesh Sahu told the newspaper. “She belongs to an upper caste family. They were being roughed up and pushed around.”

The police said that they intervened and saved the couple from the attackers. The woman was taken to a safe house.

Vivek Kumar, the additional superintendent of police, told The Indian Express that a first information report has been registered against unidentified persons for assaulting the...

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