“My life is destroyed but I will not let the life of my other sisters get ruined,” said defiant Tara Sahdev, a national shooter, who came open as a victim of Love Jihad on August 24, 2014. She alleged that her husband Rakibul Hasan aka Ranjit Kumar Kohli assaulted her because of her refusal to convert to Islam. Rakibul kept Tara under confinement for one month and tortured her and forced her to convert into Islam. According to Tara, her husband made her starve and did not let her meet anybody. After one month of torture, Tara decided to report her saga to State National Commission for Women’s chief, Mahua Manjhi, and BJP leader Ajay Nath Shahdev.
Tara alleges that Rakibul did not disclose he was a Muslim and instead faked his identity as Ranjit Kumar Kohli. Tara met Rakibul on shooting grounds where he was accompanied by three men who came to see her practice every day. Gradually, they became friends and got married on July 7. Hasan was unmasked on the first night of the marriage when he called 20-25 Hajis and forced Tara to convert to Islam. When Tara refused, she was beaten up and was bitten by dogs. Incidentally, their wedding was a grand affair and many politicians and big shots were a part.
Initially, police denied any conspiracy theory and Jharkhand police went up to the extreme of denying Muslim identity of forged Ranjit Kumar Kohli. Tara kept reiterating her stand and alleged racket behind this conspiracy but discussion in media revolved around politicisation and marital discord.
Finally, when police arrested Rakibul Hasan Khan (30) Khan and his mother Kaushalya Rani alias Kausar Parveen from Delhi on August 28, 2014, he confessed his real identity. ‘Kohli’ also confessed to the police that he was a Sikh by birth but had converted into Islam in 2007. Kohli knew several prominent people in Ranchi and a card sent to his house by a minister even addressed him as Raqibul. Reacting to the arrests, Shahdeo alleged that the Jharkhand administration has deliberately delayed Khan's arrest to give him time to destroy evidences.
This incident has led to massive protests by Hindu outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Ranchi. The Home Ministry sought a report from the Jharkhand government over the matter. Meanwhile, Tara wants to unravel this malicious network at any cost and therefore, demanded a CBI enquiry into the incident. (With inputs from Agencies)
