Police in Maharashtra will be asked to frame a standard operating procedure (SOP) to handle cases where women are duped into marriage outside religion by presenting a fake identity, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Wednesday. He was speaking in the state legislative assembly during a discussion on `Hindu girls being lured by anti-social elements' in Aurangabad district, as alleged by some legislators. All police stations will be sensitized on this issue and if appropriate action is not taken, the concerned officials will face action, said Fadnavis, who handles the home portfolio.. He will ask the state director general of police (DGP) to frame an SOP for dealing with such cases, Fadnavis added. If an adult woman marries outside religion, law cannot be do anything unless she has been duped by the man by using a different identity, he said.
Additionally, cases of women allegedly being “drugged" and coerced into marriage through the use of fake identities will be thoroughly investigated, and the rescued women will receive psychological treatment as needed. The statement came nearly a year after he mentioned that the Maharashtra government would study the laws on “love jihad" framed by other states and take an appropriate decision. In December 2022, the BJP leader had highlighted the legislative demand for a stringent law against the alleged practice, referencing the Shraddha Walkar case as an example where instances of “love jihad" were being observed on a large scale in the state. “We have assured (the House) that different states have laws on love jihad and we will study them. Based on it, our government will take an appropriate decision so that no woman or girl suffers by any conspiracy,” Fadnavis had said. “Love jihad" is a term frequently employed by right-wing activists, who claim that it involves Muslim men attempting to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.