Haryana govt considering legal provisions against ‘love jihad’: Khattar

Citing the recent murder of a student in Faridabad’s Ballabhgarh, Khattar said the incident is being linked to “love jihad”.

A day after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced his government will bring a law against “love jihad”, his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar said his government is also considering legal provisions against it to ensure “the guilty cannot escape”.

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Citing the recent murder of a student in Faridabad’s Ballabhgarh, Khattar said the incident is being linked to “love jihad”. Last week, a 21-year-old student, Nikita, was shot dead outside her college in Ballabhgarh. The victim’s father alleged that the accused was pressuring her to convert to Islam in order to marry him. The Haryana government has set up a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.

Speaking to reporters in Karnal, Khattar said, “This (Ballabhgarh) incident needs to be strongly condemned. It is being seen linked with the love jihad issue. The Centre and the state government are looking into this issue and legal advice is being taken so that such incidents are not repeated. Legal provisions are being contemplated so that the guilty cannot escape and no innocent person is punished.”

Earlier in the day, Haryana home minister Anil Vij tweeted the state government “is contemplating a law against love jihad”.

Reiterating that the state government is concerned about the murder, Vij said attempts are being made for religious conversion across the country through “love-jihad”. “In the Faridabad case too, the family has alleged that the accused had mounted pressure for religious conversion. This is not acceptable and therefore we will have to think about it,” Vij tweeted.

He said, “We will discuss this issue with all political parties and public after which a decision will be taken.” Vij said the SIT set up to investigate the murder will also probe the conversion angle and if there is a conspiracy regarding religious conversion via ‘love-jihad” in Haryana.