A Muslim girl, whose sister eloped with a Hindu boy in Aligarh, held a press conference on Sunday, August 16, accusing former BJP Mayor Shakuntala Bharti of luring Muslim girls, converting them and marrying them off to Hindu boys.
Denying the charges, Bharti has said that if the allegations are proven, she will leave the state forever. Meanwhile, the girl has said that she married the guy as per her will, and not under pressure.
After the girl disappeared from her home on August 7, her sister's husband lodged a complaint against a Hindu boy, alleging that she had escaped with the boy and taken some jewellery and cash with her. He also alleged that she was converting herself to get married to the boy.
Consequently, police registered a case against the boy under section 363, 366 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They then began looking for the girl.
On the other hand, the girl's sister took to Twitter and accused Bharti of abducting Muslim girls, converting them and marrying them off to Hindu boys.
Police then traced the missing girl, who claimed to have married the boy on her own will. According to the girl's sister, only after she threatened to call the media did the police began tracing the girl. She further said that her sister came in a car with Shakuntala Bharti.
"Shakuntala Bharti was keeping my sister with her. She is converting Muslim girls. They have converted my sister. This is a team. Why does Shakuntala Bharti interfere in the matters of Muslims? She did not even let my sister talk to me," India Today quoted the girl's sister as saying.
Refuting the allegations, Shakuntala Bharti said: "I demand from the administration that legal action should be taken against these people. If the investigation finds out that I knew anything about the conversion of this girl, then I will leave Uttar Pradesh and never show up again. Prove it. If you cannot prove it, do not talk about such things. These people want to tarnish my image."
"I got married to my will. He [her husband] used to come to my house, that way I met him. I was not under pressure from anyone. This has nothing to do with the former mayor. The allegation my sister has made is wrong. My sister does not want me to be with these people [her in-laws]. She abuses these people," the girl who was traced by police said.
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