In a disturbing case from Jharkhand, a 45-year-old married Muslim man, identified as Arif Khan—a father of three—has been accused of grooming and manipulating a 19-year-old Hindu girl, Pragati Kumari, into eloping with him. The girl has allegedly been converted to Islam and married to Arif through a nikah ceremony, becoming his second wife.
According to documents accessed by Organiser, she now goes by Tabassum Ara.
Arif Khan, a resident of Dhanbad district, reportedly lured the girl from Baramuri village near Dhanbad under the pretext of offering her a job. According to Dwarka Prasad Tiwari of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Arif is involved in network marketing and had been in contact with the girl for nearly a year before taking this extreme step.
Pictures of Arif facilitating Pragati at his institute many a time are viral on social media platforms.
The girl’s mother, Renu Devi, filed a complaint at the Dhanbad police station on May 2, alleging that Arif Khan (also known as Arif Hussain) not only eloped with her daughter but also took cash worth Rs 50,000 and jewellery amounting to Rs 2 lakh. In their written complaint, the family pleaded with members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal to help bring Pragati back.
In response, dozens of VHP and Bajrang Dal activists reached the Dhanbad police station and staged a protest, demanding immediate action. They also warned that if the girl is not rescued and the accused not arrested, they will launch a larger agitation. The incident has sparked widespread anger in the region.
Organiser accessed a copy of the affidavit made by Pragati Kumari, now identifying as Tabassum Ara, where she declared:
“I, Tabassum Ara @ Pragati Kumari, aged about 19 years, by faith Muslim, by occupation Business (Medicine), resident of Vill. Baramuri, Near I.T.I., P.O. B. Polytechnic, P.S. & Dist. Dhanbad, do hereby solemnly affirm and declare:
That now I am a Muslim lady.
That Md. Arif Hussain is my husband.
That I and Md. Arif Hussain have loved each other since February 2024.
That our marriage ceremony was held on 2nd February 2025 according to Muslim rites and customs in presence of a Molvi and witnesses.”
A nikahnama written in Urdu, also shared widely on social media, reveals that Arif was already married and has three children.
The station in-charge at Dhanbad police station has reportedly assured the protesting VHP and Bajrang Dal members that the girl will be traced and the matter investigated thoroughly. However, despite attempts by the Organiser correspondent, calls made to the Dhanbad police went unanswered.
Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand, Babulal Marandi, shared the affidavit related to the Dhanbad incident on X, calling it another alarming case of love jihad. “A 45-year-old man named Arif, father of three, has lured and abducted a young Hindu woman. Her age has been suspiciously mentioned as 19 in the affidavit, similar to the Saraikela case,” he wrote. Marandi termed the rise in such incidents as part of a “deep and well-planned conspiracy” and urged Dhanbad police to act swiftly to rescue the girl and curb such activities in the future. He reiterated the BJP’s commitment to safeguarding Hindu daughters from grooming jihad in Jharkhand.
धनबाद जिले से लव जिहाद का एक और गंभीर मामला सामने आया है। तीन बच्चों का पिता, 45 वर्षीय अधेड़ आरिफ, एक युवती को बहला-फुसलाकर भगा ले गया है। युवती का उम्र शपथ पत्र में संदिग्ध रूप से 19 वर्ष दर्ज किया गया है, ठीक वैसे ही जैसे सरायकेला मामले में देखा गया था।
लव जिहाद की बढ़ती… pic.twitter.com/pPfx9KUMo1
— Babulal Marandi (@yourBabulal) May 4, 2025
Further developments in the case are awaited.
