Hadiya is secure at home, torture claims false: Panel
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hadiya Jehan is safe and secure at her home, the acting chairperson of the National Commission for Women said on Monday after meeting the 24-year-old homoeopathy doctor from Kerala.
Rekha Sharma denied reports that Hadiya was under house arrest and being tortured by her father and other relatives after meeting her for an hour at her home in Vaikom.
“She is in good health. She was not beaten up by anyone. She told me she will tell everything before the Supreme Court when she appears before it on November 27,” Sharma said showing a smiling photo of Hadiya taken on her mobile phone.
This is the first time a highranking official met Hadiya after Kerala high court annulled her marriage with a Muslim man, Shefin Jehan, in May.
She said three women police officials are stationed at her home and they are providing protection to her round the clock. “There is no rights violation. She is secure at her home. All she wanted was to go out freely... She is eager to depose before the court. Since the case is before the court we did not discuss it in detail,” she said.
Sharma evaded a question whether Hadiya was a victim of “love jihad”, saying there were reports of forced conversions and indoctrination from the state. She said she will submit a report to the central government within a week.
She also said she will meet Bindhu Sampath, the mother of Nimisha Fathima who reportedly slipped out of the country in June 2016 and is believed to have joined the Islamic State.
Last week, Hadiya’s husband moved the SC with the fresh plea to shift her from her father’s house. He claimed she was tortured and sedated at home citing a video released by activist Rahul Eswar. Hadiya, born Akhila Ashokan, married Shefin Jahan without her family’s consent last December.
Her father approached the HC in May, alleging that there was a “well-oiled systematic mechanism” for conversion and Islamic radicalisation.