The 18-year-old Hindu girl Muskaan, hailing from Kanpur’s Govind Nagar, who had been missing for the last 10 days, has returned to her family. On the basis of the family’s complaint, Govind Nagar police have registered an FIR against Asif Shah alias Nafiz, a resident of Jajmau in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, under IPC Section 366 and started investigating the matter. The family has alleged it to be yet another case ‘Love Jihad’.
THE 18-year-old Muskaan was trapped by one Asif Shah alias Nafiz, who brainwashed her into embracing Islam. She was then, forcefully converted and married off to Asif. Here, the family of the girl have accused the Muslim boy and his family of brainwashing Muskaan into embracing Islam with the use of ‘black magic’ and some occult practices.
While the Govind Nagar police are investigating the case, OpIndia tried to delve into the case, for which we got in touch with the victim’s mother – Mamata Tiwari, Mamata’s employer – Deepti Tiwari and the Bajrang Dal activist – Ramji Tiwari, with whose help the distressed Hindu family recused their daughter on August 28.
Muskaan’s mother, Mamata Tiwari recollected how, when all their efforts to search for their missing daughter proved to be futile, she received a call from her husband, who told her that he had received a call from Muskaan and she wanted to meet them. “11 PM, I called Muskaan, who in a faint voice said ‘Mummy hum aapse milna chahte hain’, (Mummy I want to meet you).” When Mamata showered a barrage of questions at her, Muskaan replied that she would tell everything when they meet.
After speaking to her daughter, Mamata got in touch with Bajrang Dal activist, Ramji Tiwari, with whom she went to the designated place, Ramadevi, a neighbourhood in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to meet her daughter. “We waited for the entire day, but Muskaan did not turn up. I kept calling her but she did not receive my call”, told the mother of the 18-year-old girl.
The next day when she came to meet her mother, Muskaan asked her mother to take her back home. “Muskaan was in a terrible state. She had lost her mental balance. They had done something to my daughter, vashikaran kiye the”, told the angry mother, furthering that Muskaan had forgotten their phone number, address… everything: “This is not possible unless something is done on someone”, claimed the mother.
“When I looked into her bag, I found several chits with something written in Urdu. She was wearing a Tabiz (amulet) around her neck and black strings were tied to her legs. Muskaan told me that the water or tea which was given to her was infused with these chits. We immediately called a pandit who performed an exorcism on Muskaan to cut the effects of the spell”, said Mamata.
Once the effect of the spell reduced Muskaan has just been crying, the mother says. She narrated her ordeal to her parents. Mamata quoted her daughter as saying: “Hum wahan nahi jayenge, mujhe wahan nahi jaana hain (I don’t want to go back to that place)”.
Mamata reminisced that on August 14 or 15 (she said she does not remember the exact date) her daughter told her that she wanted to visit her tuition teacher at Bara Devi. Muskaan met Asif alias Nafiz near a mandir at Bara Devi, where she stopped to eat something. “Muskaan did not even know Asif. She had seen him for the first time in her life”, said Mamata, furthering that Muskaan had said that the boy approached her and asked her to come with her to which she agreed. Mamata quoted Muskaan as saying: “I don’t know what happened to me. He was a complete stranger, I did not even know his name, but when he asked me to accompany him I agreed”. Mamata opined that Asif had done something to Muskaan.
Asif took Muskaan to his sister’s house, where they started administering witchcraft on her, she said. “Asif’s sister knows black magic and vashikaran. She took Muskaan to a Mazhar (mausoleum) where ‘black magic’ was performed on her. She was completely “brainwashed” through “vashikaran”. Thereafter, Asif proposed marriage to which Muskaan had agreed”, said Mamata.
The Maulvi was called and her Nikah was read. “They told me to say haan haan and I said”, confessed Muskaan to her mother.
When Muskaan came back, she was wearing Mehndi, which attests the fact that she had been married to Asif.
“My daughter had to go through a lot. The mental agony and distress she went through is unimaginable. You have to see to believe. I will knock whichever door I have to, will go to any length to make sure that the perpetrator is punished”, said the mother, who seems to be relieved that her daughter has at least come back home, yet distraught seeing Muskaan’s mental condition.
Speaking on the case, Tiwari too affirmed that Kanpur has turned into a hub of ‘Love Jihad’ crimes. He alleged that organised gangs have been operating in various Muslim dominated areas like Juhi colony, Jajmau, Macharia etc in Kanpur. The fixed pattern and the modus operandi of the perpetrators point to the fact that these youths are being trained to lure and brainwash Hindu girls by a particular syndicate, who are also providing financial support and other resources to the Muslim men to carry out the task, said the social worker. In almost all cases, the Muslim men reportedly fake their identities and pose as Hindus, he says.
Speaking on this particular incident, the Bajrang Dal activist said that the girl, who belongs to a humble Hindu Brahmin family is around 18 years old. When Asif befriended the girl, she was not aware of his religion. Almost 10 days ago she abandoned her family and went to live with Asif in Jajmau district. Tiwari said that the girl confirmed that a Maulvi had visited Asif’s house and had performed her wedding with Asif.
“Asif’s family took the help of black magic to brainwash her and convert her religion”, alleged Tiwari, furthering that when the girl returned, she had a Tabiz (amulet) around her neck.
The family also recovered some small shreds of paper with some text written on it in Urdu from her. They learnt that Asif’s family was mixing the paper shred with tea and feeding it to her. Moreover, they use to rotate these paper shreds over her head and burn them.
The Bajrang Dal activist also attested Muskaan’s mother’s statement. He said that the victim girl has supposedly told her family that she was taken her to a Mazhar (mausoleum) where ‘black magic’ was performed on her and the Maulvi had given these shreds of papers which the Muslim boys family had been using on her.
Tiwari furthered that the girl was told that the room where she was confined, was ‘possessed’ by one Deepa’s spirit, who had committed suicide, by hanging herself in that room. If she did not succumb to the occult practices, Deepa’s spirit would possess her and torture her. The activist believed that the Muslim boy’s family had told her this story probably to intimidate or convince her to not object to the occult practices being performed on her.
On being asked, the girl has confirmed that she had already been converted and married to Asif.
Tiwari furthered that the victim has become mentally distressed and unstable because of the activities. She has been behaving unnaturally and changing her statements since the time she has returned from Asif’s house, confirmed the Bajrang Dal activist.
He said that since the girl was a major, the judicial magistrate would record her statement under CrPC section 164 on August 29.
“This certainly appears to be a Dharam Parivartan case”, Deepti Tiwari said as soon as we called her to hear her version of the issue. Muskaan’s mother Mamata has been working as a cook in Deepti Tiwari’s house for the last few years. “Since they are simple people and not educated enough, I intervened to help them seek justice”, said Deepti Tiwari, furthering that Muskaan has currently been placed in the Mahila Police Thana, Kanpur.
She too attested what Muskaan’s mother and the Bajrang Dal activist had said. She also said that after returning from Asif’s house, Muskaan has lost her mental balance. She had been behaving peculiarly and changing her statements every now and then. But now, Deepti confirmed, that Muskaan is better. “The effect of the ‘black magic’ seems to be declining”, she said.
“It is very evident, from what I have gathered from the victim, that Asif and his family have pressurised her immensely.
Deepti Tiwari asserted that the girl was not aware that the boy was a Muslim. The boy has allegedly told Muskaan that he belonged to her caste. “When she (Muskaan) went to Asif’s house, initially she could not understand that they were Muslims, until one day, the females of the house were going out wearing burqas. When Muskaan confronted them, she was rushed to the Mazhar where the magic spell was cast on her through vashikaran“.
When Muskaan resented wearing the Tabiz, she was intimidated by an imaginary story. (This is the same story which the Bajrang Dal activist Ramji Tiwari told us about how she would be possessed by one Deepa’s spirit had she not succumbed to the occult practices.)
Alluding that this is also a typical case of ‘Love Jihad’ which has been on the rise in UP’s Kanpur, Deepti said, “These boys target vulnerable Hindu girls, lure them and brainwash. In some cases, they use the girl’s shortcomings to blackmail and threaten them. They then force them to embrace Islam. This is the Modus Operandi of the syndicate which has been working in Kanpur with the help of Islamist organisations.”
Meanwhile, the Govind Nagar Police are searching for the accused. SSP Dr Preetinder Singh said that the matter has come to his notice and the case is being investigated. The girl will be sent for medical examination, and her statement would be recorded.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday directed senior officials of the state Home Department to prepare a plan to stop incidents of “love jihad”, following several such cases reported from different parts of the state. On his direction, the Uttar Pradesh police have formed a special investigating team (SIT) to probe allegations of conversion – either by force or by “brainwashing” the women – before marriage.