Jharkhand: Row erupts over Conversion and re-marriage of Hindu woman in Palamu, accused held along with the woman

A row erupted in the Palamu district of Jharkhand after a married Hindu woman from the Sarguja region of Chhattisgarh was found to be converted and remarried to a youth identified as Mohammad Sajid of Jharkhand through illegal means.

The incident sparked a huge row after the husband and father of the lady approached the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from the Panki constituency, Shashibhushan Mehta, to intervene in the matter and bring back the woman.

As per a few media reports, the woman, who is a resident of Ambikapur of Chhattisgarh, had recently travelled to her father’s house in Bhilai for her B.ed examination. However, she went missing from there, following which the woman’s family members had also filed an FIR for the same.

Meanwhile, on July 7, the woman’s father received a notice from the Gurha Panchayat secretary that his daughter had filed a marriage registration application with a youth identified as Mohammad Sajid Khan.

It’s been learnt that Mohammad Sajid Khan lured the woman into a relationship and convinced her to elope with him and get married, following which both of them reached Gurha village under Medininagar and got their Nikah done. The duo also filed an application along with their Nikahnama and an affidavit before the Panchayat secretary of Gurha Panchayat to register their marriage, following which a notice was sent to the father of the woman to register his objection pertaining to the marriage, if any.

The father of the woman, along with her husband, then approached the Panki MLA Shashibhushan Mehta to intervene and recover the woman. They also shared the notice issued by the Panchayat with the MLA and approached the police in between.

Learning about the incident, the Panki MLA Shashibhushan Mehta then issued a stern warning to the Mukhiya of Gurha Panchayat, Saba Khatun, to immediately return the woman. It’s been learnt that after the intervention of the MLA, the accused Mohammad Sajid Khan, along with the woman have been arrested and are being taken to Chhattisgarh.

Speaking with the Organiser, Panki MLA Shashibhushan Mehta said that the father and husband informed him of the woman about the incident following which, with the efforts of Hindu outfits in the region, the police have nabbed the duo, and they are being taken back to Chhattisgarh.

“The Panchayat secretary cannot allow a conversion and issue a marriage certificate after that, there is a procedure for these things which have been overlooked in the case, how can a married Hindu woman do a Nikah without a divorce”, he added further.

The Organiser representative also tried to contact the husband of the woman however, no contact has been established, and more details of the case are still awaited.