BJP legislator seeks stricter punishment for ‘love jihad’ cases

IN A LETTER TO ADITYANATH, THE MLA FROM LUCKNOW LINKED THE SHRADDHA WALKAR MURDER TO ‘LOVE JIHAD’

LUCKNOW: Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Rajeshwar Singh on Thursday urged Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to amend state laws dealing with heinous crimes and proposed stricter punishment for “love jihad” in view of the gruesome killing of a woman by her interfaith partner in Delhi recently.

In a six-page letter to the CM, Singh sought amendments to the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, to enable speedy justice in such cases. He said there is a need to broaden the definition of allurement in cases of “love jihad” and must include marriage, promise of marriage or conjugal relationship or live-in relationship.

“Love jihad” is a term used by right-wing activists to allege a concerted effort by Muslim men to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage, though the courts and the government do not officially recognise it.

A copy of Singh’s letter has also been marked to Union law minister Kiren Rijiju. “The bone-chilling incident of a man murdering and then chopping the body of a woman into 35 pieces is reminiscent of ‘love jihad’ crimes reported recently from across the nation,” read the letter.

The MLA was referring to the killing of 27-year-old Shraddha Vikas Walkar allegedly by her partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala (28) in Delhi’s Mehrauli area in May this year. Poonawala had allegedly strangled Walkar and hacked her corpse into 35 pieces and dumped them in forested areas over several days, according to police.