The term "Love Jihad", which became famous after rape and forced conversion incidents in Uttar Pradesh, appears to have reached Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, where a Muslim man allegedly tortured his Hindu wife to convert to Islam.
The Ranchi police with the help of Delhi Special Team have arrested Raqibul Hasan Khan from an area near the Delhi airport. Khan allegedly faked his name as Ranjit Kumar Kohli and married national-level shooter Tara Shahdeo. Earlier his passport was seized during a raid at his home.
Tara learnt about her husband's religion and his real name when he started torturing her and forced her to convert to Islam after the wedding.
"Raqibul Hasan Khan was known as Ranjit Kumar Kohli among people in Ranchi. After their marriage, he forced Tara to have a nikaah, which she refused, and was tortured for raising her voice in protest," The Times of India quoted Ranchi SSP Prabhat Kumar.
The city police had earlier filed an FIR against Khan and sealed his house and his six cars. On Monday they also seized his passport.
Tara met Khan in May 2014, when he introduced himself as Kohli, the name by which he was famous in the city.
"He was well known as Kohli and connected to high-profile people of the state and a regular visitor at the shooting range," Tara told Jharkhand Women's Commission chairperson Mahua Manjhi.
Tara and her family were unaware of his religion even when they got married in Hindu tradition in July. Her father Lal Ambika Nath Shahdeo, who tried to enquire about the groom ahead of the marriage, received positive response.
"I tried to verify his credentials and most people I spoke to had positive remarks about him," her father said.
However, after marriage Tara came to know that her husband had converted to Islam after his father's death in 2008 and changed his name to Raqibul Hasan Khan, as his mother was a Muslim and had not converted to Hinduism after marrying Khan's father, according to TOI report.
Days after marrying Tara, Khan started forcing her to change her religion and allegedly threatened to kill her parents if she said anything about it to anybody. He even took away her phone to ensure that she does not reach out for help.
The torture continued for a month until she sent a message to her family from her maid's phone, following which her brother came along with the police to rescue her.
