Eloped with boyfriend to escape from forced wedding, says Priyanka; brushes aside ‘love jihad’ charge

Mangaluru, Dec 22: A 25-year-old girl, who had escaped from the clutches of her family members at Dhargudde near Moodbidri on the outskirts of the city and eloped with her boyfriend belonging to another community earlier this month, has brushed aside the allegations of ‘love jihad’.

Priyanka’s family members had fixed her wedding with one Dinesh on December 11 against her will. When Priyanka left her home on December 9, her family members and saffron groups had claimed that she was kidnapped by a Muslim boy. Local media had termed it a case of so called ‘love jihad’.

According to sources, a team of police from Mangaluru managed to trace Priyanka and her boyfriend Hyder in Mumbai. The girl has clarified the police that her boyfriend did not even force her to change her religion. She also told police that she was in love with one Hyder for past six years and that she never loved Dinesh. 

Sources also said that Priyanka’s family had shifted from Inoli village to Dharegudde in order to force her to end relationship with Hyder and marry a boy from her own caste. When she continued the relationship with her boyfriend, the family had decided to arrange her marriage with Dinesh. 

Interestingly, Hyder is also not a practicing Muslim, though he hails from a Muslim family. His family members also had reportedly warned him against marrying a girl belonging to another community saying that it may cause problems to entire family.

Also Read: Seer accuses PFI of trapping Hindu girl; warns of intense protests across DK