A man recognised as Aslam Khan posed as a Hindu and cheated a poor family to marry their minor daughter to him in Jharkhand’s Bokaro. His real identity appeared after the Jaimala (garlanding ceremony).
People after identifying Aslam Khan beat him at the venue but he managed to escape in his Scorpio before he could be given to the police. The incident occurred in Kumhartoli in the Harla police station area in Sector 9 of Bokaro. The accused, aged around 50 years, is said to be a local of Wasseypur, Dhanbad.
The girl’s father informed the police that he was a vendor fending for the family of seven. He said that they first met the accused on a visit to Dena Bank for a loan, where he introduced himself as Sanjay Kasera and started paying visits to their house regularly on the pretext of assisting them with the loan.
He alleged that Sanjay posed as a police officer posted in Latehar, tricked his daughter by promising her a better future, and pressured them into the marriage. The girl’s father added that he agreed to his daughter’s marriage owing to their weak financial condition and threats by the accused.
The marriage was scheduled to take place on Wednesday night when Aslam aka Sanjay reached with some people. During the event, a labourer who set up the wedding pandal asserted that the groom was Aslam Khan who he knew from jail where they were lodged a year ago.
The news shook the people. Bajrang Dal activists arrived at the venue after receiving information about it. The accused and the people who attended to him fled before the police arrived. The police rescued an Alto car, a police uniform and a weapon from his belongings. An FIR has been registered against the accused on the basis of the girl’s relatives’ complaint.
The district head of Bajrang Dal, Ajit Pandey urged action against the accused, calling it a case of love jihad i.e. grooming jihad.
A preliminary investigation disclosed that Khan had a criminal record. In May 2021, Chas police sent him to jail on charges of scam over money. He was earlier lodged in Chatra, Ranchi and Jamtara jails in several other cases. According to police, the accused had earlier cheated a tribal woman into marrying him.
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