UP Hindu minor girl takes own life after Bajrang Dal harassment over 'Love Jihad' allegations

A 17-year-old Hindu girl took her life by hanging herself from a tree outside her home over the alleged grief and humiliation she endured at the hands of Hindutva goons, the Bajrang Dal, who threatened her and assaulted her Muslim friends, accusing them of being engaged in “Love Jihad”, apart from circulating a video of her with the boys.

The Class IX student, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district, was found dead on the night of 21 July, hours after she was allegedly humiliated by the goons, who reached the Blue Diamond Hotel in the Izzatnagar area after learning of her presence there with her Muslim colleagues, Salman and Shoaib, who had gone there for tea, according to the FIR filed by her brother.

The complaint named Himanshu Patel, Devendra Patel and Nirdosh Rathore, who were among the group that surrounded the girl and her friends, verbally abused the girl, threatened her, assaulted her friends while accusing them of "Love Jihad", recorded videos of the incident, and circulated them online.

According to her family, as told to Maktoob Media, she returned home visibly disturbed and told her mother that she was deeply ashamed of the video being circulated, despite her mother's assurance that they would report the incident to the police the following morning, before she took her own life.

"My sister used to work at a private hospital and became friends with those Muslim boys through the doctor who runs the hospital," her brother told Maktoob. "When she returned home, she said Bajrang Dal members had abused her and accused her of having a relationship with the boys. She was frightened and deeply distressed."

In a case registered by the police, the two Muslim boys were also booked along with the three named Hindutva activists, the hotel owner, the doctor who employed the girl, and an unidentified individual under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.

Though an investigation is ongoing, police stated the findings of the preliminary probe, ruling out the Love Jihad angle, confirming that they were colleagues at the same private hospital who had merely gone out for tea, and asserting that all digital evidence and witness statements are being examined in connection with the incident.

Station House Officer Rajesh Babu Mishra confirmed the girl's death by suicide and said one person had been arrested, though he declined to disclose the individual's identity while the investigation continues.

Meanwhile, the Bajrang Dal men named in the FIR claimed they were not directly connected to the melee at the hotel, and they made a representation before the Superintendent of Police that their names be removed from the FIR, asserting their innocence in circulating the video while insisting that there is no digital evidence to prove their involvement in the alleged incidents.

Although videos featuring the girl have since been removed from social media, one video of the confrontation involving her friend Salman reportedly remains available on an Instagram account linked to one of the accused. Another accused has also released a separate video accusing journalists of falsely implicating the group and warning them against what he described as misleading reporting.