A Muslim man was allegedly assaulted and publicly humiliated in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal after he was found with a woman from another community at a hotel, triggering allegations of “love jihad.” The incident, which took place in the Govindpura area, sparked outrage after videos of the assault went viral on social media.
According to police, the woman told officials during questioning that she had been in a live-in relationship with the man for the past five to seven years and had gone to the hotel willingly. She denied allegations of coercion, harassment, or hostage-taking and reportedly refused to file any complaint against him.
“During interrogation, the woman stated that she had come to the hotel of her own free will and did not want any legal action,” police officials said.
Viral Video Shows Public Humiliation
The incident came to light after a disturbing video surfaced online showing the man being dragged out of a hotel, assaulted, stripped, and paraded publicly. In the video, a group of men can allegedly be seen smearing his face with black paint, soot, and cow dung while accusing him of engaging in “love jihad” — a conspiracy theory promoted by some Hindutva groups claiming Muslim men target Hindu women for religious conversion.
The victim, identified as Arif Khan, was allegedly attacked after a group received information that he was staying in a hotel room with a Hindu woman. Witnesses claimed the crowd entered the hotel, forced the couple out, and assaulted the man on the street.
A complaint later filed in the case alleged that some men identified themselves as members of the Bajrang Dal while assaulting Khan and raised objectionable slogans targeting his religion.
Police Arrest Seven Accused
Police have arrested seven people in connection with the assault, including one juvenile. The arrested accused have been identified as Brijendra Prajapati, Prateek Chouksey, Lalaram Meena, Ramesh, Ajay, and Aman, while the juvenile will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee.
However, Govindpura police said they have not found evidence linking the accused to the Bajrang Dal or any other right-wing organisation.
“Representatives of right-wing organisations informed us that these individuals are not their members,” Govindpura SHO Awadhesh Singh Tomar said.
An FIR was filed after local social worker Mohammad Uwais Rahmani submitted a complaint over the viral video. Rahmani said he approached police after learning that the man had allegedly been beaten and humiliated because of his religious identity.
The complaint stated that the victim was “forcibly stripped, assaulted, and publicly humiliated,” causing physical injuries and mental trauma. It also claimed the accused recorded videos and circulated them online.
Police Also Arrested the Victim in Old Cases
Meanwhile, police said Arif Khan was later arrested in connection with older criminal cases. According to SHO Tomar, Khan had recently been released from jail and was wanted in cases related to mobile phone theft and other offences.
“He was recently released from jail. During investigation, it came to light that he was involved in two mobile theft cases, after which he was arrested,” Tomar said.
