Hindu Man Killed By Muslim Girlfriend’s Family; Mother Says Killers Told Him To Accept Islam Or Call Off Relationship

In his seminal 1945 book Pakistan, or The Partition of India, Dr B R Ambedkar wrote, “…The Hindus are right when they say that it is not possible to establish social contact between Hindus and Muslims because such contact can only mean contact between women from one side and men from the other”.

Seventy-five years later, in what is left of India after a bloodied partition, murders of Hindu men for daring to enter into relationships with Muslim women are shockingly routine.

Less than two kilometres from Dablu’s house, 22-year-old Ankit Saxena was similarly killed by his Muslim girlfriend’s family three years ago.

On 2 December when this correspondent visited Dablu’s house, his wailing mother said the killers had warned her son that he should either accept Islam or stay away from their daughter.

Dablu was killed for his refusal to accept Islam, she said.

Shobhawati narrated the events of some months ago when the family of Laadli learnt about their relationship.

Shobhawati says Shah Alam visited her house four months ago and angrily asked her to “control” her son.

“I apologised for my son’s behaviour with folded hands. I assured Shah Alam that my son would never see Laadli again,” says Shobhawati.

After a few days, Shah Alam confronted the family again. He complained that Laadli had visited a police station and given a written application that she wanted to marry Dablu on her free will.

“Shah Alam then made an offer to us. He said that if Dablu converted to Islam, he would accept the relationship and get the two married,” says Shobhawati.

Dablu’s bhabhi Nema says Shah Alam also offered Rs 2 lakh in lieu of conversion.

Dablu categorically refused the offer, says Shobhawati.

Nema says Shah Alam threatened the family with dire consequences if Dablu continued to go after his niece. “He said he would kill us all,” says Nema.

Watch the statement here:

Shobhawati says the matter settled down over the next few days when Shah Alam sent Laadli to his native village in Bengal.

“I do not know. I really do not know. All I know is that my son told me on Tuesday that some people had called him outside and he would be back in no time. When my son returned, he had been stabbed multiple times in his neck,” she says.

Shobhawati and her husband migrated from Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh to New Delhi two decades ago. “Dablu was about a year old then,” she says.

The family lives in a small two-room set that has no kitchen. They pay Rs 7,000 as rent.

Dablu worked at a meat shop that is located near the 'Bengali basti'. It was there that he came in contact with Laadli.

“Maybe Laadli had contacted my son from Bengal. Maybe she had visited her parents here in Delhi and contacted my son. I don’t know,” says Shobhawati before bursting into tears again.

Nema says that in Rajouri Police Station (where a case for murder was filed against Shah Alam and Laadla on 30 November), Shah Alam told the police to let Laadla off as “he was solely responsible for the murder”.

“He [Shah Alam] told the police — ‘I have done it. Leave my nephew’. He looked like he had no regrets at all,” says Nema.

Outside the house, three security personnel are sitting guard. No mediaperson or activist is in sight.

A security personnel tells me that about an hour ago, a group of Hindu activists sporting saffron stoles have gathered and raised slogans. They check the time; it is 1 pm.

I spot a congregation near the house. It turns out that a temple is hosting a bhandara. The hosts and the attendees know that a murder has happened, but are not aware of the details.

Shobhawati had told me that Laadli’s family lives “two streets away”. I follow the directions given by her, ask around for help, but in vain.

A Spate Of Such Murders In The Area

It is in the same Raghubir Nagar area area that Ankit Saxena had his throat slit on a busy street by the parents of his girlfriend, Shehzadi, in 2018.

Less than 10 kilometres from Dablu’s house, 20-year-old Rahul Rajput, a resident of Adarsh Nagar in northwest Delhi, was killed by brothers and cousins of his Muslim girlfriend Shehgufa last year.

The killers came from Jahangirpuri, an almost all-Muslim settlement of largely Bengali migrants.

A year earlier, a 46-year-old businessman, Dhruv Tyagi, was killed by a Muslim migrant family when he halted his scooter to confront them for passing lewd remarks at his daughter.

The incident took place in Basai Darapur, less than three kilometres from Dablu’s house.