Two civil services aspirants, 29-year-old Priya Verma and Taufiq, 32, got married in Lucknow last month. The couple was in a relationship for two years before they finally decided to tie the knot as per Hindu rituals.
But, Taufiq, a Muslim, is now behind bars after he was arrested under the state’s contentious ‘Love Jihad’ law and for “fraudulently concealing his religious identity”, posing as Hindu to marry a Hindu girl.
The woman’s family got to know of Taufiq’s Muslim identity after some local residents from his hometown in UP’s Gursahaiganj saw photos of the wedding on Facebook and informed the family.
Initially, some media reports said that Taufiq misled Priya about his identity to marry her. In the FIR lodged by the woman’s father, it was mentioned that the family was “mislead” and the woman was “cajoled” into getting married. Priya had also testified against Taufiq before the police and the magistrate.
BJP leaders and activists went to the police station, demanding justice. Talking to the Times of India, BJP district vice-president Jeetu Tiwari said, “This is a clear case of Love Jihad. We had protested at Kotwali police station in this regard on Friday. Muslim youths are brainwashing Hindu girls and converting them.”
But, that is not all as there’s a twist in the tale. It now appears that the woman was aware of Taufiq’s Muslim religion and it was her who concealed his identity so as to marry him.
According to a report by The Print, the woman said that she was aware of Taufiq’s religion and that she was pressurised into filing the case.
Priya decided to introduce Taufiq as Rahul Verma because she knew that her family wouldn’t approve of the match, the report said.“He never asked me to change my religion. He was, in fact, ready to become a Hindu. We got married with Hindu rituals, isn’t that proof enough?” Priya said. She is currently at home, trying to resist her parents’ attempts to get her married again, the report states.