Ex-Bhopal MLA Surendra Nath Singh linked "Love Jihad" to his daughter's alleged disappearance.
BJP leader Surendra Nath Singh has been accused of prompting hate among communities after he linked "Love Jihad" to his daughter's alleged disappearance and claimed Bhopal MLA and Congress leader Arif Masood had a role in the case. A first information report was filed against the former Bhopal MLA last night at a police station in the city.
On Monday, refuting his daughter Bharti Singh's allegations after she claimed in a video that was harassed by her family, Mr Singh alleged that she was being trapped in "Love Jihad". "Love Jihad means making efforts to convert Hindu girls into Muslim, which was happening with my daughter also. If it continues to happen then Qatal-E-Aam (massacre) will happen," Mr Singh had threatened while talking to reporters.
"I very well know who all are behind this, but they don't who is Surendra Nath Singh. I'll ensure that they soon know who I am," he said, alleging Mr Masood' involvement in the case.
Arif Masood, who defeated Mr Singh in 2018 state elections, however, denied to comment, saying: "Singh's daughter is like my daughter and it's his family matter, so I won't comment."
Amid the allegations, Bharati was brought to Bhopal on Tuesday, days after the BJP leader had filed a missing complaint. Bharati had allegedly gone missing on October 15 and his father had filed a missing complaint a day later, claiming she was "mentally unstable".
In a video, Bharati rebuffed her father's claims. "I am mentally sound. My family is producing false documents because they are in a position to do that. I can't obviously do that. I just don't want to return home.... Please help me," she is heard saying.
Accusing her family of falsifying documents to prove that she is mentally unsound, she also sought protection from the Jabalpur High Court. In a petition, she said she left home after her family pressured her to marry the son of another politician and kept harassing her.
She also said that she was "safe and happy" after leaving home. "I am not with a Christian or Muslim man. I have left my home because I wanted to leave. Please don't make it a caste or religion issue. I want to leave peacefully. My family was harassing me... so I had to leave," she is heard saying.
On Tuesday, she was counseled before being produced before a judicial magistrate where she recorded her statement.
"She told the police that she wanted to return to her parents, after which was handed over to parents," senior police officer Umesh Tiwari said.