Guwahati: Against the police report about a turbulent relationship of a couple in Assam which end up with the husband killing his wife and her parents, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma did not hesitate to stamp it a case of alleged ‘Love Jihad’.
The 25-year-old Nazibur Rahman Bora, an engineer, surrendered at the police station along with his nine-month-old baby and confessed to the killing of his 24-year-old wife Sanghamitra Ghosh and her parents, Sanjeev and Junu Ghosh.
According to the police, the two befriended each other on Facebook in 2020 during the COVID lockdown, and they got married against the wishes of her parents. The police report suggested that both parties involved in the case had filed multiple cases against each other on many occasions.
According to police reports, Nazibur and Sanghamitra left for Kolkata in October 2020, which led Sanghamitra's parents to file an FIR against him, accusing him of abducting their daughter for forced marriage. Despite their objections, the couple had already registered their marriage in a Kolkata court. This led to further friction when Sanghamitra's parents filed a theft case against her, leading to her arrest and judicial custody for 37 days. After being granted bail, she returned to live with her parents.
The couple once again left together, this time for Chennai, in January 2022, where they lived for five months before returning to Golaghat in August. Sanghamitra then decided to live with her husband in his home, and in November of the same year, they welcomed a baby into their lives.
However, the happiness was short-lived, as another case was registered against Nazibur, this time for allegedly physically abusing his wife. Sanghamitra, feeling unsafe, returned to her parents' home in March 2023, and yet another FIR was registered at Golaghat police station regarding the alleged torture. As a result, Nazibur was arrested and placed in jail for 28 days.
Upon his release on bail, tensions escalated between Sanghamitra's and Nazibur's families as he repeatedly insisted on meeting her and the child. In the course of these conflicts, Nazibur's brother also lodged an FIR against Sanghamitra and her family, accusing them of assaulting Nazibur. The argument that culminated in the tragic triple murder appeared to be the devastating climax of this prolonged dispute, according to police investigations.
However, for Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, it is a case of alleged ‘Love Jihad’ and a reality. He urged young women to be cautious about forming friendships with strangers on social media and to carefully consider the consequences of interfaith marriages.
Chief Minister Sarma also questioned the legitimacy of Sanghamitra and Nazibur's marriage, pointing out that it was registered by a "kazi" and not through the Special Marriage Act.