Muslim man converts to Hinduism before marriage, couple under police protection

21-year-old man and 19-year-old woman had approached the Punjab and Haryana high court saying they feared a threat to their life, following which directions were issued to provide them security

A Muslim man who converted to Hinduism before marriage was under police protection with his Hindu wife after the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana high court.

A 21-year-old Muslim man, who has also changed his name, married a 19-year-old Hindu woman in Yamunanagar on November 9 after converting to Hinduism (Getty Images)

Haryana home minister Anil Vij had said last week that the state government had set up a three-member committee to draft a law against ‘love jihad’, a term used by BJP leaders to describe religious conversions in the guise of marriage.

The 21-year-old man, who has also changed his name, married the 19-year-old woman on November 9 following Hindu rituals, Yamunanagar superintendent of police Kamaldeep Goyal said on Tuesday.

The couple had approached the high court stating that they feared a threat to their lives and personal liberty from the woman’s family, while submitting that opposition to their marriage was a serious abuse of their rights provided under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The police later lodged the duo in a protection home here for several days, while acting on the high court’s directive to evaluate the threat perception and provide them security.

The police also met the girl’s family and tried to convince them that the two were legally wedded and they should allow them to live together, the SP said.

The woman had earlier declined to meet her family, who during a hearing in the case on November 11 expressed the wish to meet her once, Goyal added.