HADIYA GETS TO MEET HER HUSBAND IN SALEM COLLEGE

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: HADIYA, the 24-year-old Kerala woman who made national headlines over allegations of “love jihad”, is said to have met her husband at her college in Salem.

She was sent to the Sivaraj Medical College in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district by the Supreme Court recently to complete her homeopathy studies there.

Speaking to HT over telephone, her husband Shefin Jehan said the meeting was very emotional. “It is a reunion for both of us. She is emotionally so weak. We both have unflinching faith in the judiciary, and the law of the land will help us lead a life like any other couple,” Jehan said.

Hadiya, born Akhila Ashokan, married 27-year-old Jehan without her family’s consent last December. Her father, a retired military man, approached the Kerala high court alleging that she was bound for Syria and that “a well-oiled machinery was working in the state to trap innocent girls and indoctrinate them”. In May the HC had struck down their marriage calling it a “sham” following which her husband moved the Supreme Court.

The apex court, which heard his appeal in an open court on November 27, granted her wish to complete her studies.

The court also allowed her to meet anyone she wished to. A few days later the couple spoke over phone. This is the first time the couple is meeting after her family kept her in virtual house arrest since May.

According to the news reports, the meeting on Wednesday afternoon lasted for over two hours.

The National Investigation Agency, which is probing Jehan’s alleged links with the Islamic State, had on Monday questioned him in connection with the case. The NIA had told the SC earlier it had evidence that Jehan was in touch with the IS outfit.