'Coerced Into Conversion': Madhya Pradesh Police Forms SIT To Probe Bhopal 'Love Jihad' Case After Multiple Arrests

Madhya Pradesh Police established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) dedicated solely to investigating claims of the "love jihad" case in Bhopal, where several girls were coerced for religious conversion after sexual assault.

The allegations of a group of men concealing their religious identity and subsequently assaulting women have emerged where victims were allegedly coerced into religious conversion through fear, pressure, or deceit, Indian Express reported.

The Madhya Pradesh Police Headquarters took action based on the intelligence that “socially vulnerable and weaker sections of girls/women have been systematically targeted through tactics such as romantic entrapment, deception, threats, or other inducements, leading to their mental, physical, and social exploitation.”

The police headquarters described such incidents as 'not only criminal in nature,' but also posing a 'serious challenge to the dignity, freedom, and social harmony of women.'

The SIT is assigned with the responsibility of identifying and examining instances of forced conversions, locating the individuals, organisations, or groups potentially involved, and ensuring strict legal consequences for the wrongdoers.

The political climate surrounding these incidents has intensified, as certain groups have initiated neighborhood campaigns, going from house to house to educate individuals about the need for vigilance against involuntary religious conversions.

The SIT is headed by the Inspector General of Police from Bhopal (Rural) and comprises high-ranking officers like the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime & Headquarters) for Urban Police Bhopal, the Assistant Inspector General of Police from the Women Safety Branch, and the Superintendent of Police from the State Cyber Cell, among others. This team has been given the power to bring in more officers as required to aid in the investigation.

The primary suspect in the Bhopal case, arrested on 2 May on allegations of raping and blackmailing several college girls, suffered gunshot wounds when he reportedly attempted to flee custody by seizing a police officer's firearm.

The police reported that the suspect, while being escorted for evidence gathering, purportedly attempted to grab a sub-inspector's pistol. In response to this event, Vishwas Sarang, the state's Sports and Youth Affairs representative, expressed his opinion that the suspect should have been shot in the chest rather than the legs.

Up until now, five individuals have reported their victimisation and filed FIRs at various police stations in Bhopal against the alleged offenders. The police have identified six primary suspects in these cases, and have successfully apprehended five of them.