Bareilly, June 21: According to police sources, a woman sub-inspector from Bareilly who sought for marriage with a Muslim man under the Special Marriage Act was shifted to Sambhal district. The Special Marriage Act permits two persons of different faiths to marry without having to change their faith.
The dispute erupted, however, when the S-I’s Meerut-based family accused the Muslim man of forcing her to accept Islam. The family had requested that she be transferred to a district closer to their hometown of Meerut, where she might be removed from the man’s influence.
According to a senior police officer, the woman S-I had nearly fulfilled her maximum term of seven years in the Bareilly area and her transfer was already in the offing.
He did, however, add that her family’s request was also taken into account, and she was shifted to Sambhal, which is closer to Meerut. When asked about her point of view, the S-I did not appear before top authorities, according to the official.
According to another police officer, the sub-inspector has been missing from work since Thursday without alerting her superiors.
In the absence of SDM Pratush Pandey, Bareilly city magistrate N Ram verified that the sub-inspector had petitioned under the Special Marriage Act to marry the Muslim man.
However, the woman police sub-inspector went missing from job; only hours after her application to marry a Muslim businessman under the Special Marriage Act in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly emerged in a few local newspapers and social media.
Meanwhile, her brother arrived in Bareilly from Meerut on Friday evening and filed a complaint with Additional Director General of Police (Bareilly Zone), Prem Chand Meena. The woman’s brother said that his sister had been indoctrinated by the Muslim man she had been dating for several years.
“The man has videos and photographs of my sister. He uses them to put pressure on her to marry him. I have requested that she be posted at either Bijnor or Shamli so that we can save her from an interfaith marriage,” the brother explained.
According to the authorities, she met the Muslim man, a trader, while working at the Bahedi police station in Bareilly.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer discovered her missing from duty during an inspection of the Subhash Nagar police station where she is stationed on Saturday and recorded an unfavourable note in the general diary (GD).
Last month, the sub-inspector and the man attended the office of the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) asking permission to marry under the Special Marriage Act, and they stated in writing that they will not alter their respective religions after the marriage.
The SDM office sent notices to the relevant agencies and requested any objections from the couple’s family members. Bareilly police declined to comment on the row. They did, however, concede that because the woman cop and man were adults and were not married under duress, there was no legal impediment.
Incidentally, the relatives of the female inspector who came from Meerut wrote a letter to the ADG headquarters expressing their disapproval of the marriage. They also indicated that the case pertains to love jihad.
According to the letter submitted by the brother, the sister was previously assigned to the Bahedi police station. Previously, a middle-aged driver would pick her up from the police station and drop her at the house.
During this time, he hypnotised her and led her to his community’s shrines. This individual has now convinced his sister to marry someone of his religion. Because some of his images and videos were retained, the accused is putting pressure on his sister. Her family requested that the ADG relocate their sister to Bijnor or Shamli area so that she may be free of that person’s grip.
The female sub-inspector, who previously worked at Parikshitgarh police station in Meerut district, now lives in Izzatnagar. Bansmandi is home to a Bahedi wood dealer. The two had a long-running love affair. The churning gossip mills are going on in full swing after both of them applied for marriage at SDM Sadar last month.
There has been discussion on social media concerning their marriage. Some think it’s an excellent idea, while others think it’s a poor one. It is said that the lovelorn couple would only marry in court so that they may both continue to practise their respective religions. They will not marry using any religious marriage procession.
Swara Bhaskar, an actress, has previously married SP politician Fahad, a Bahedi native. This marriage was also widely debated on social media. The debate over the marriage of the female sub-inspector to a man from the same town is now in full swing.
