Alleged ‘Love Jihad’ Case in Mangaluru: Woman left home voluntarily, says police

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, July 13, 2024: Right-wing groups in Mangaluru recently caused a commotion after a Hindu woman left her home of her own accord to be with a Muslim man, Muhammad Ashfaq. The 20-year-old woman, a BCA student in Mangaluru, had been living with a relative in Ullal. She reportedly left on June 30 to be with Ashfaq, who is from Kasaragod, Kerala.

Her father filed a complaint with the Vidyanagar police, claiming that his daughter had been kidnapped by Ashfaq and was being forced to convert to Islam. He also wrote to the Mangaluru Police Commissioner, requesting that his daughter be "rescued and protected." Additionally, he sought assistance from the right-wing group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The police tracked the woman and Ashfaq to Kerala and brought her back to Mangaluru, placing her in a counseling center in Mudipu. Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal told TNM that the woman informed the police she had left home willingly and had not been abducted. "A missing complaint was filed by the woman’s father. No case under the anti-conversion law was registered," he said.