Dadri's Hindu-Muslim couple refused marriage registration as authorities fear riots: Report

Dadri: Authorities in Uttar Pradesh have allegedly refused to make official marriage of a Hindu man and a Muslim woman in Dadri town, as per a media report.

The couple are said to have failed to get their marriage registered even after six months.

As per Mail Today, the reason given by officials was fear of a resurgence of last year's communal tensions which was sparked by lynching of 52-year-old Mohammad Ikhlaq by a mob over rumours that he slaughtered a calf.

The couple reportedly hail from Chitehra village.

Manjeet Bhati (24) and Salma (20) fled from Dadri in Gautam Budh Nagar district to Allahabad city on October 19 last year.

The woman later changed her name to Sapna Arya.

She adopted Hinduism and the couple got married at an Arya Samaj temple. 

"We went to the marriage registrar in January but he said that he will not register our marriage as I was a Hindu and my wife a Muslim and this could ignite violence in the area. I assured him that no local has a problem with our marriage and our village is quite peaceful, but still he refused and also demanded Rs 20,000," Manjeet was quoted as saying.

On the other hand, Sapna says, "My parents died while I was quite young. I was living with some relatives who wanted me to marry an elderly man. But Manjeet and I were friends for long and we decided to get married."

"As my relatives have threatened to kill us, we sought protection from police for a month and then we appeared before the magistrate in Meerut in December 2015. I produced my certificate and my medical test was done, which established I was an adult. The magistrate ordered that I was free to live with anyone and I chose my husband," she adds, as per the website.

Meanwhile, as per the report, the district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, NP Singh, promised that the marriage will be registered.

He also asked a senior officer to look into the matter.

"If both of them are adults then there should not be any problem in registering their marriage. I cannot deny that they were told by a government officer that registering their marriage can ignite communal violence. A similar case happened in Meerut Singh," Singh was quoted as saying.