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AGRA: Ajju Chauhan, state convenor of the Bajrang Dal, said in February this year that a ’Bahu Laao, Beti Bachao’ campaign would soon commence to protect Hindu women from "love jihad". He was speaking soon after the hullaballoo of the "ghar wapsi" incident in the city last December. On Monday, members of his outfit distributed pamphlets outside city schools, warning young girls to be wary of the "wiles" of Muslim youth.
 
The pamphlet warns that Hindu girls are "trapped" in relationships and then sold in in Arab markets. Children of Chirag School for Special Children, Sanatan Dharam School and a few other educational institutions in the Sadar area of the city received these pamphlets on Monday.
 
"We visited women’s colleges to create awareness about ’love jihad’. In the next phase, members will approach mothers of marriageable Hindu men, persuading them to get daughters-in-law from Muslim or Christian families," said Ajju Chauhan alias Avneendra Pratap Singh, state co-convener of Bajrang Dal. He said by getting women from other religious groups as daughters-in-law, Hindu families would be giving those women the opportunity of experiencing the "rich cultural tradition" of Hinduism. The ’Bahu Laao, Beti Bachao’ campaign, he said, was aimed at stemming the tide of "love jihad".
 
Members of the Matra Shakti Durga Vahini, a women’s group of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), also joined the campaign in Agra on Monday, urging schoolgirls to be wary of Muslim men who changed their names and wore lockets with pictures of Hindu gods to lure them into marriage.
 
The leaflet that was distributed in Agra claimed that around one lakh girls in India had already fallen victim to "love jihad". It said many of them were later trafficked, sold in Mumbai, Kolkata and Saudi Arabia.
 
The leaflet also contained phone numbers at which readers could reach for help, in case anyone received information about a victim of "love jihad".
 
Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi, national general secretary of the All India Jamat Raza-e-Mustafa based in Bareilly, told TOI on Monday that Muslims had no money for their own welfare, so it was outrageous that they could carry out and fund a "love jihad" campaign. He sought action against members of the Bajrang Dal for fomenting communal trouble. "If we had that kind of money, we would give it to our brothers first. All these allegations are so false they do not even deserve a response. Action must be taken against the people responsible for this," Razvi said.
 
Circle officer Asim Chaudhary of the Sadar police station said distributing such communally sensitive literature is illegal. He said action would be taken against the organization responsible for this.
 
"We are getting in touch with people who received the pamphlets. An FIR will be lodged against the Bajrang Dal," Chaudhary told TOI.