Love Jihad: Chandigarh Girl Alleges Rape, Forcible Conversion By Srinagar Man, Gangrape By In-Laws 

An 18-year-old girl from Chandigarh has alleged that she was raped by a boy from Srinagar, Times of India has reported. She has also alleged that she was forcibly converted to Islam and later gang raped by the boy’s relatives. The girl has filed a petition in Punjab and Haryana High Court with her plea coming up for hearing on 1 May before Justice Anita Chaudhary.

The accused, according to the girl's petition, had contacted the girl on Facebook in January 2016 and posed "as a Hindu boy" after which they became friends. They met at a hotel in 2016. She later came to know that he had concealed his identity. According to the petition, she was upset with him "for concealing his real identity".

In 2017, they met at a hotel in Chandigarh. Here, he allegedly "forced her into a physical relationship and took objectionable photographs of her". As per the girl's plea, he asked her to convert to Islam - this, a necessary condition to return the objectionable photographs he had taken of her. According to the report, the boy took her to a mosque in a village in Chandigarh, she was converted to Islam and the boy moved to Srinagar after their marriage.

Until her two travels to Srinagar in May 2017, where she went to get her objectionable photographs back, the two remained in touch over the phone.

The report mentions that she was she was ill-treated by the boy’s mother and other family members and was raped by five other members of his family.

According to the report, the girl has alleged that Chandigarh police has not investigated the case fairly. She has sought directions for an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in her plea to the high court. According to the petition, the boy’s mother forcefully terminated her pregnancy and they took away all her money and jewellery.

The report says, “In support of her allegations, the girl has submitted a screenshot of the Facebook page of the accused, copies of the Nikahnama, travelling documents to Srinagar, name of all persons who allegedly raped her in Srinagar and phone numbers through which the boy’s family members called her.”

The girl has been asked to place on record the proof of her age by 18 July, the day of next hearing of the case. Earlier this year, Supreme Court adjudicated a ‘love jihad’ case and allowed Hadiya, a woman from Kerala to live with her husband.