SC wants NIA probe into Kerala ‘love jihad’ case

The Supreme Court directed on Wednesday the National Investigation Agency to investigate the alleged forced conversion of a Hindu woman to Islam for marriage in Kerala.

The order came after the country’s counter-terrorism organisation said it was not an isolated case but part of a growing pattern of converting women from Hinduism to Islam.

The NIA made its remarks during a hearing on a petition filed by Kerala-based Shafin Jahan, a Muslim man whose marriage last December with a Hindu woman, who had converted to Islam, was annulled by the Kerala high court.

The high court described the wedding as a case of “love jihad”, a term right-wing groups use to allege an Islamist strategy of converting Hindu women through marriage, money or threat.

The 24-year-old homeopathic doctor, Akhila Ashokan aka Hadia Shefin, was allegedly recruited by the Islamic State terrorist group and her husband was only a stooge.

Retired military man Ashokan KM, her father, alleged there was a “well-oiled systematic mechanism” for conversion and Islamic radicalisation. The woman now lives with her parents.

A top court bench headed by Chief Justice JS Khehar said retired judge RV Raveendran will monitor the NIA probe.

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COURT WAS HEARING A PLEA FILED BY A MUSLIM MAN WHOSE MARRIAGE WAS ANNULLED BY THE KERALA HIGH COURT