Several advocates at the Rewa court allegedly assaulted a Muslim man and harassed a Hindu woman—both adults—who had come to submit documents for their interfaith marriage on Friday.
According to the police, the incident occurred when the couple, with the woman belonging to a Brahmin family, arrived at Rewa court. A case has been registered against unidentified accused, and further investigations are underway.
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Sources revealed that the woman is pregnant, and the couple has been living together for the past two years. Reports also indicate that they had already solemnized a Nikaah under Muslim rituals in 2023.
The 27-year-old Muslim man, Rajib Khan, and the 21-year-old woman were rescued by police officers and some women lawyers before being taken to the Civil Lines police station in Rewa.
Videos of the incident, showing the police whisking away the couple, have gone viral.
According to Rajib Khan, he had taken his companion to the district court on 21 February after their lawyer called them to sign documents for marriage registration.
He alleged that when some advocates learned about their different religions, they began thrashing him and pushed his female companion to the ground twice. He further claimed that the perpetrators also hurled abuses at the woman.
Some reports quoted the Hindu woman as saying, “I don’t know why these people are after us when my parents have no objection to our marriage.”
Rewa Zone Acting Inspector General of Police, Saket Pandey, stated on Saturday that a case has been registered against unidentified persons based on Rajib Khan’s complaint.
Civil Lines Police Station House Officer (SHO) Kamlesh Sahu confirmed that efforts are ongoing to identify the accused. He added that they have been booked for assault, abuse, and issuing threats.
“We registered a case against the unidentified persons after obtaining the Medico-Legal Certificate (MLC) of the injured Khan from the hospital,” Sahu added.
This is the second such incident reported from a court premises in Madhya Pradesh in the past 15 days.
On 7 February, also a Friday, activists from Hindu right-wing organizations reportedly assaulted a Muslim man at the Bhopal district court premises when he arrived with a Hindu woman—both adults—to submit documents for their interfaith marriage.
A video of that incident also went viral, showing a policeman attempting to rescue the Muslim man from the assault.
According to M P Nagar police station Inspector Jai Hind Sharma, the man, Shehzad Ahmed, had come to the court with the Hindu woman to meet a lawyer regarding marriage-related documents.
The police officer confirmed that both individuals were adults and residents of Pipariya in Narmadapuram district, which borders Bhopal.