'Man Changed Name To Deceive Woman': Hindu Group Alleges 'Love Jihad', FIR Filed

The Hindu Yuva Vahini claimed the man changed his name on social media before he introduced himself to the woman.

The Hindu Yuva Vahini stopped a couple from getting married in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad.

(Illustration: Erum Gour/The Quint)

A day after the Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV) prevented a couple from getting married in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad on Monday, 18 April, alleging a case of "love jihad", police on Tuesday filed a First Information Report (FIR) on a complaint lodged by a person against the man.

The FIR has been filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 363 (punishment for kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc) and the anti-conversion law in the state.

The HYV has alleged that the man, who is a resident of Moradabad, falsely portrayed himself as a Hindu when he introduced himself to the woman on social media.

On Monday afternoon, the group accosted the couple, caused a ruckus, and prevented the couple from registering their marriage. The couple was then handed over to the Civil Lines Police by the HYV.

The couple had fled from Ludhiana, Punjab, and were going to get their marriage registered in a court in Moradabad, where the man lives. A missing person's report was also filed by the woman's family after she went missing from Ludhiana.

"The woman had come to Moradabad to marry a man who is from a different community. We were given information regarding the same by the HYV, after which we started our investigation into the matter and informed the woman's parents," said Civil Lines Circle Officer (CO) Sagar Jain.

Jain added that the couple had met in Ludhiana itself, and that a team of the Ludhiana police were also on their way and would carry out the necessary investigation regarding the matter.

He Revealed His True Identity After a Year: HYV

Meanwhile, HYV district president Ankit Sharma claimed that the man had changed his name on social media platform Instagram before he introduced himself to the woman.

"The woman started speaking to a man named Shahbaz on Instagram, but he changed his name to a Hindu one to deceive her," Sharma said, adding that the man told her of his true identity after more than a year of their relationship.

He also added that cadre of the HYV caught the couple at an "opportune moment", just before they were going to get their marriage registered in court.

"We caught the couple at the opportune moment. Then we immediately called the police and handed the couple over to them," he said.

'Action Should Be Taken Against the Man,' Say Girl's Parents

In the meantime, the woman's parents came to Moradabad and took her back with them to Ludhiana.

Her parents said that a proper investigation should be conducted into the matter, and that action should be taken against the man if found guilty.

"What happened with our daughter can happen to other women as well. We had no idea about our daughter's relations with the man," the woman's mother said.