With rise in number of cases of what commonly is called ‘Love Jihad’, Islamists brought up a counter-conspiracy theory naming it, ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’. In these cases as they allege Hindu men trap Muslim women for conversion to the Sanatan fold.
A group of vigilantes began a manhunt, looking for men with burqa-clad women and started abusing and harassing them in the name of Deen and Jahannum. However, case by case, this theory has only failed.
On June 19, Muskan Bano was found dead in her room in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh. As per her parents, Muskan had eloped with a Hindu man, Deepak back in 2019 and hence he became the prime suspect in the case.
Soon after the news broke out, a section of people, including social media activists and self-proclaimed journalists started calling it the ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’. Their version of the story was that Deepak trapped Muskan, got her converted to the Sanatan fold and later killed her.
The big name on this list of fake news peddlers includes Zakir Ali Tyagi, who is a journalist with the controversial website ‘The Wire’. Kashif Arsalaan, who describes himself as a Muslim activist and has more than 34,000 followers on Twitter; Shahin Khan, who has 46,000 followers on Twitter and describes herself as a student; Sadaf Afreen, who has more than 61,000 followers on Twitter and describes herself as a journalist; Kavish Aziz, who has 58,000 followers on Twitter and describes herself as a journalist; and Ashraf Hussain, who has 384,000 followers on Twitter and describes himself also as a journalist.
Contrary to the angle given by the so-called intellectual journalists, the police investigations revealed that the woman separated from Deepak almost a year ago and had been living with Faizan since then.
The police told Organiser that the cause of death, in this case, was suicide.
The Circle Officer, who is investigating the case, Abhai Kumar Pandey told Organiser on June 24 that, Faizan surrendered on June 22 and was presented before the court the same day.
The Station House Officer (SHO), Aligarh Kotwali Nagar, Ramwakeel Singh told Organiser that, Faizan in front of the court accepted that Muskan had been pressuring him for nikah (marriage as per Islamic rituals) while he never wanted to do it.
As per the police investigations, Faizan and Muskan were living at a rented place, on June 19 Faizan left the place to meet relatives, however, the landlord located the body of Muskan hanging from the ceiling on the same day.
By around 10 pm the landlord knocked the door as there was too much silence which grew suspicious. The door however was not locked and he found Muskan’s body hanging from the ceiling.
Soon the police arrived on the spot and also informed the woman’s family.
On June 20, after learning of their daughter’s demise the family gave a complaint letter to the Aligarh police stating they suspect Deepak for the alleged murder as their daughter eloped with him only. They also claimed that Deepk used to beat her up and tortured her a lot.
Following this complaint, A First Information Report (number–184/2023) was registered at the Aligarh Nagar Kotwali on June 20. The FIR names Deepak Singh, his father Amar Singh, his brother Pratap Singh, Vijay Kumar and Nirmal.
They all have been booked under IPC sections 498-A (harassment), 304-B (dowry death) and sections 3 and 4 of the Prohibition of Dowry Act, 1961.
The police investigation revealed that Muskan’s family lost touch with her since she left their house back in 2018-19. They had no idea about the recent developments in her life, they still thought that Muskan was living with Deepak.
As per the SHO, Muskan left her house with Deepak when she was still a minor. Her family filed a missing person’s report under sections 363 and 366 of the IPC at the Aligarh Kotwali Nagar. After the FIR, the police located the duo and presented Muskan before the court, where she said, she eloped with Deepak on her own wish and that he had not kidnapped her.
As she was still a minor the police handed her to her family, as soon as she turned major she again moved with Deepak. The police have no idea if the suo ever got married or not.
“They lived in several places including Delhi. In their current house, in which her body was found, they moved a couple of months ago,” the SHO said.
Contrary to the family’s belief, Muskan left Deepak sometime around a year ago and moved in with Faizan. The police have arrested Faizan under the charges to abetment to suicide and the interrogation is on, said the Circle Officer.
Faizan was also native to Aligarh and the colony the lived in is called Super Colony and is located in the Bhujpura area of Aligarh.
In a video statement the CO can be seen saying, “On June 19 the dead body of woman Muskan was recovered from Super Colony area, the locals told she was the wife of Faizan. Police tracked her family and informed them. Faizan is under police custody and a case has also been instituted against him”.
The case which was propagated as a fake claim of Bhagwa Love Trap conspiracy turns out to be a myth and nothing more.
Organiser has been reporting cases of fake Bhagwa Love Trap, enclosing statement of the women who filed harassment cases against the vigilantes.
In May 2023, Organiser reported a case from Muzaffar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh where Islamists hurled abuse against a burqa-clad woman saying, ‘Musalman kam pad gaye hain kya..”
The victim man went out to buy a farewell cake with a Burqa-clad class mate, Islamists first stopped them and then abused the woman. Following the roadside encounter, the vigilantes followed the Hindu man to his house, they threatened him and ultimately he had to register a police complaint against the perpetrators.
On April 27, Organiser reported a case from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra. In the video, the Muslim vigilantes hurled abuses for a burqa-clad girl. They dragged her on the streets to snatch her cell phone. By the end of the video they can be heard saying, ‘Gair Muslim ladke ke sath kyu ghum rahi hai?’
Begumpura Police arrived at the scene after being notified. The police recognised the girl from the video and asked her to file a complaint, though she declined. However, the police started a procedure to file a suo motu case against the three men.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Deepak Girhe said, “The three accused, in this case, have been detained by the police on charges of criminal intimidation, stalking, causing bodily harm, and insulting a woman.”
Organiser reported a similar case from the Kahndwa district of Madhya Pradesh. Here Muslim vigilantes thrashed a Hindu teacher and a teen boy after they caught them sitting at a cafe with a burqa-clad girl. They asked questions like ‘Ramzan me Namaz padhi thi? and Tumko Musalman kam pad gaye?’.
Notably, in this case the girl and her family decided to register a complaint against the accused. A First Information Report (FIR number–148/2023) was registered as per which, 17-year-old girl daughter of Abdul Hafiz was sitting at a cafe with a Hindu boy, Atul Yadav and a laboratory attendant, Satyam Bavne on 16 April. Within no time a group of Islamists reached the cafe and asked what was the name of the girl. When she said it was their matter, they started abusing them all. On finding they belong to different religious backgrounds, they abused the minor girl saying ‘Why can’t you find Muslim boys to hang out with?’
The police booked all the accused Azhar Ali, Mohsin, Shadab and Irfan under IPC sections 294 (obscene act in a public place), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (act done by several people with common intention).
