"If she is still willing, I would like to marry her."
26-year-old Syed Khan is recovering from his injuries after being beaten up by a mob inside a court complex in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal. But even in this state, he still hopes that one day he will be able to marry the love of his life - Vaishnavi Dubey.
But his present worry is he has no idea how Vaishnavi is, whether she is safe or not. Both of them live in Umardha in MP's Narmadapuram district.
Their houses are nearby but the distance has never felt as far as it does now.
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"Daraa dhamkaakar nahi laaya": Vaishnavi and Syed's ordeal
Vaishnavi and Syed fell in love around a year ago, Syed says. Earlier this year, they decided to get married so that they could be together. Though Vaishnavi is a few years younger than Syed, both are adults.
"Vaishnavi told me that we should do a court marriage. So I told her to speak to her family first. She spoke to her brother, who himself had done a court marriage. Her brother gave her the contact number of his lawyer," Syed told The Quint.
Vaishnavi then spoke to the lawyer, a person named Akshay Karan, who promised her that he would arrange for their court marriage. According to Syed, the lawyer asked for an advance of Rs 5000, which he duly transferred.
Vaishnavi and Syed travelled nearly four hours by bus to Bhopal to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act on 7 February. Little did they know that they were walking into a trap.
"After we reached the court, the lawyer took our documents, got them signed, and took another ₹35,000 from me. Then he said, 'I am going inside the courtroom to get the paperwork completed'. Suddenly, the media came from behind, a mob of vigilantes also came and attacked us," Syed recalls.
"None of them asked me anything; they directly started beating me. Then, at the police post inside the court, they made me do sit-ups as a form of punishment. They took my phone and my money".
Vaishnavi tried to save Syed from the mob but they hit her as well.
"When I was being beaten, Vaishnavi tried to save me. She was pulled away and also slapped twice"Syed Khan
A video of the Hindutva mob beating up Syed in the court canteen and bullying him is circulating in the media and social media.
The mob stopped beating Syed only when the police intervened and took them away.
Mediapersons surrounded the police vehicle in which Vaishnavi was being taken away. Even when she was being prompted by a journalist that Syed had forced her to get married, Vaishnavi said that she came by her own will and that she knows him since three years.
"Nahi daraa dhamkakar nahi laya hai (No he didn't force me or scare me in anyway)"Vaishnavi Dubey
The couple waited at the police station till 10 PM and the police sent Vaishnavi back with her family and Syed with his brother.
The night of 7 February at the police station was the last time Syed saw Vaishnavi or heard from her. Since then, he says, she hasn't stepped out of home nor has her phone been reachable.
'Hindu Girls Don't Think....': Hindutva Leader Behind the Attack
Syed claims that Vaishnavi kept saying that she wanted to go with him.
"She kept that she wanted to take me (Syed) with her. She said she came with me willingly and that she wanted to get married to me. She was aware that she is Hindu and I am Muslim. But the police sent her home with her parents," he says.
Syed claims that the girl's family are now blackmailing her.
"Her family is torturing her a lot to force her to give a statement against me. She has been locked in a separate room. The people in the neighborhood informed me about this."Syed Khan
The Quint is trying to reach out to Vaishnavi's family as well as advocate Akshay Karan. We will update this story when they respond.
No one has been arrested in connection with the assault. However, the police have registerd a case against Syed.
"A case has been registered under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act as there is an allegation of forcible conversion," ACP Akshay Chaudhary told the media.
Syed has filed a complaint through his lawyer on 12 February. The main accused in Syed's complaint is Chandrashekhar Tiwari, who is alleged to have led the mob that attacked him. Tiwari is the president of Hindutva outfit Sanskriti Bachao Sangathan.
The Quint spoke to Tiwari, who defended his actions.
"This is not violence. This is the outrage of the Hindu society. Gandhiji’s formula (of non-violence) is now obsolete. This is no longer the time to turn the other cheek after getting slapped on one. When they can commit violence against our daughters, then, in comparison, the people of Hindu society have done nothing at all," Tiwari said.
He accused Syed of "Love Jihad" or luring Vaishnavi to convert to Islam.
Syed denied this and said, "This is not true. There was no religious conversion involved here. Even after the mob attacked us, she (Vaishnavi) said that she came of her own free will to get married".
Tiwari dismissed Vaishnavi's statement in support of Syed by saying, "When Hindu girls dedicate themselves to someone, they stop thinking. They don't think of the consequences".
Interfaith Couples Where the Man is a Muslim, Face Frequent Attacks
What happened to Vaishnavi and Syed is only the latest in a series of attacks on interfaith couples in which the man is Muslim and the woman is Hindu. This may be mainly due to the 'Love Jihad' narrative being woven by Hindutva organisations. There have been at least four more such attacks in less than two months.
Rewa, MP
An interfaith couple in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, faced violence when a group of lawyers assaulted a Muslim man after news spread that the woman was Hindu. It all began when the couple walked into a lawyer’s chamber and the woman, who was wearing a burqa, revealed her name reportedly. Suspecting foul play, some lawyers demanded to see the man’s Aadhaar card, and upon discovering his religious identity, accused him of “love jihad” before allegedly assaulting him, police said.
Indore, MP
A Muslim man and Hindu woman sitting together were attacked and harassed by a right-wing mob in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on January 9, 2025, after being accused of engaging in "love jihad." A video of the incident surfaced online on 13 January.
According to the footage, a group of men confronted the couple in a public space, forcibly grabbing the Muslim man by his collar and repeatedly slapping him. Despite the Hindu woman’s repeated clarifications that they were merely friends, the mob’s leader coerced her into making a statement on camera and calling her father to intervene.
The couple was later handed over to the police.
Bazpur, Uttarakhand
An interfaith couple in Uttarakhand, Mohammad Shanu and Akanksha Kandhari, have sought police protection after receiving threats from right wing groups when their marriage notice, submitted under the Special Marriage Act (SMA), was widely circulated on social media.
The couple had applied for marriage registration at the Bazpur sub-divisional magistrate’s court on 7 January. However, soon after, their personal details were leaked online, leading to a barrage of intimidation and threats.
"Ever since our marriage notice went viral, it’s been terrible for us. I fear for my life," Shanu told The Times of India. Kandhari, who had initially faced opposition from her family, stated that her mother is now under pressure to formally object to their marriage.
Basti, Uttar Pradesh:
A legally married interfaith couple in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district was harassed by a Hindutva mob on December 28, 2024, after the man was accused of "love jihad." Despite the woman’s repeated assertions that she had married of her own free will, the mob surrounded them, demanding explanations and attempting to coerce the woman into denouncing her marriage.
"I'm ready to go to jail. I have got married as per my own wish. This is my life," the woman told the mob, firmly standing by her decision. However, the mob continued to intimidate them and telling them to separate.
The situation escalated, forcing the couple to seek police intervention for their safety.
'A Violation of Constitutional Rights'
Speaking to The Quint, Areeb Uddin Ahmed, a practicing advocate at the Allahabad High Court, condemned the attacks, calling them a direct assault on constitutional rights.
"Every individual has the fundamental right to choose their partner, a principle upheld by the landmark judgment in KS Puttaswamy v Union of India, which affirmed that privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India. This right is an intrinsic part of the bundle of rights guaranteed to citizens under Part III of the Constitution, which ensures dignity, liberty, and equality.
He points out that "High Courts and the Supreme Court have repeatedly reinforced the freedom to choose one's partner".
According to Advocate Ahmed, the practise of making the names public of couples filing applications under the Special Marriage Act, may be making them more vulnerable to such attacks.
"Only those connected to the couple should know and anyone specific from the family. Why does the public at large need to know that these two individuals are getting married? doesn't it make it more traumatic for them?"
The government must take stringent action against self-proclaimed vigilantes who seek to undermine these rights and ensure that justice is served. No one should live in fear for making personal choices that are their fundamental right," he told The Quint.