Four held for forging papers to register inter-faith marriage

Rajkot: Four people were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly preparing fake documents to register a marriage between one of the accused and a woman from another faith, who had eloped from Palitana town of Bhavnagar a month ago.

The elopement had resulted in a massive outrage with the right-wing organizations

like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) alleging ‘love jihad’. However, the woman told police in her statement that she had gone on her own with Zakir Haroon Saiyyed and was not under any duress. The couple also returned to Palitana after getting their marriage registered in Delhi.

However, an investigation by the local crime branch (LCB) revealed the involvement of more people, including three from Delhi, who made fake documents for marriage.

Along with Zakir, police arrested Gulab Khan Pathan, Habib Khan Pathan and Aftab alias Altaf Sheikh, who have all been booked under relevant sections of IPC pertaining to forgery and criminal conspiracy.

Police also booked Mohammed Qadri, a native of Palitana and three others — Nitu, Anup Singh and Rajesh — who facilitated the documentation in Delhi for the purpose of ‘nikahnama’.

On December 25, VHP had also given a call for a bandh in wake of the incident.

N J Jadeja, police sub-inspector, LCB, said the couple first went to Surat and then to Delhi, where they got the marriage registered.