On February 15, 2023, another case of purported love jihad came to light from Kaushambi district, Uttar Pradesh. Mohammed Arif, disguised as a Hindu named Guddu Rajput, befriended and got into a relationship with Chanda, a 35-year-old widow. The couple was in a live-in relationship. UP police revealed that they had apprehended the accused, Arif, for the brutal killing of Chanda after she refused to convert to Islam.
According to reports, Arif was a resident of UP’s Kaushambi district and worked as an ambulance driver. He was posted at 108 emergency services in UP’s Mirzapur district. The deceased, Chanda was a resident of UP’s Mau district. She lost her first husband, Durgesh Singh, five years ago and had two daughters with him.
The couple met on social media after Chanda’s first husband died. Arif, disguised as a Hindu named Guddu Rajput, befriended the widow, who later fell in love with him. He called Chanda to Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, under the guise of employment.
Later, Arif persuaded Chanda to sell her home in UP’s Mau, which was worth Rs 1 crore. Under Arif’s persuasion, Chanda sold her home without alerting anyone and moved in with Arif. He used Chanda’s money to purchase land and started constructing a house while the two began living together in UP’s Mirzapur.
According to reports, the deceased widow’s daughter said Arif frequently fought with Chanda over money. She added that since Arif’s identity was revealed to Chanda, he pressured her to embrace Islam and offer namaz at their home. She continued to state that Arif used to beat Chanda when she resisted his demands for conversion.
Chanda’s daughter also said that on February 11, 2023, Arif had Chanda talk to her daughters, and he informed the daughters that she was ill and he was taking her to a hospital for treatment. The daughter found out about their mother’s death shortly afterwards.
According to reports, Arif gathered people from his community and a Maulvi to pressure Chanda into converting to Islam and offer Namaz, but she refused all his attempts. Arif, after allegedly murdering Chanda, went to their residence on February 14, 2023, where he left Chanda’s body and fled.
On February 16, 2023, Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, the Superintendent of Police, revealed that Arif had been arrested. He confirmed that Arif murdered Chanda after she refused to convert to Islam and offer Namaz. UP police said that Arif fired at them when they went to arrest him. UP police retaliated, which injured Arif’s leg. He has been admitted to a local hospital and receiving treatment. UP police have registered a case against Arif under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the state’s anti-conversion law.
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