Houses set ablaze over interfaith elopement: Headlines swing between kidnapping charge and man's faith

Houses belonging to a man and his Muslim relatives were set on fire in Agra by Hindutva footsoldiers, after he eloped with a Hindu girl, converted to Hinduism before tying the knot, and was accused by her family of abduction, as per media reports – with their own share of the spin.

In the past few years, there have been rising instances of interfaith couples being targeted by fringe groups. Newslaundry had also reported on how Hindu vigilantes have been exploiting a Special Marriage Act clause to target such couples. What adds to the atmosphere of contention is also the news reportage.

While the Delhi edition of the Indian Express, which carried a five-column report on the incident on page 6, chose to mention the mob in active voice – ‘Protesting inter-faith elopement, mob sets 2 houses on fire’ – in its headline, the Hindustan Times focussed on the alleged abduction.

“House of Muslim man accused of kidnapping Hindu woman set afire,” read the headline to the two-column report on page 10 of the Delhi edition. The first paragraph mentioned that the man has been accused of abducting the girl but the latter has said that she went with him at her own will. The fifth paragraph had the SSP’s quote about a video released by her.

The report did not have any details about the man’s conversion to Hinduism but mentioned that those arrested belong to various right-wing groups, attributing it to the police, in the last paragraph. The Indian Express report led with eight arrests in the case.

The Delhi edition of the Times of India carried a report on page 12, headlined, “UP houses burnt over inter-faith elopement”. It was accompanied by the “Times View”, which said, “Adults in any form of consensual relationship cannot be victimised by law or society. Their religion doesn’t matter. It seems the cops have taken a partisan approach in this case. They should be taken to task.”

According to the police, a right-wing group called Dharam Jagran Samanvay Sangh torched the properties linked to Sajid, now known as Sahil after conversion. An FIR has been filed against 21 identified and over a 100 unidentified persons and an inquiry set up against the Sikandra SHO for negligence, as per the Times of India report.

A two-column report on page 3, the Calcutta edition of the Telegraph, was headlined “‘Love jihad’ fire burns houses”. A local Bajrang Dal leader, Raunak Thakur, was quoted as saying, “Muslim youths trap Hindu girls to spoil their lives…This is love jihad; it has to stop immediately.”

Meanwhile, the Dainik Bhaskar, in a report published on its website – headlined “Saajid ban gaya Saahil: Dilli ke Arya Samaj mandir mein ladki se shaadi ki; gaon waalon ko Saajid naam hi pata” – appeared suspicious about the man. The first paragraph mentions that the Saajid who has been accused of eloping with a Hindu girl has identified himself as Saahil on the marriage certificate. “But villagers say everyone knows him as Saajid. No one calls him Saahil,” the last sentence of the paragraph reads.