Vice-Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes L. Murugan on Wednesday said he had asked the Tiruchi police to probe the “love jihad” angle in the case of Dalit BJP functionary Vijay Raghu’s murder.
“It seems love jihad (perceived attempts by Muslim men to convert women from non-Muslim communities to Islam by feigning love), which is widely prevalent in Kerala, is spreading to Tamil Nadu. The murder accused in Vijay Raghu’s case had made desperate efforts to secure the hand of his daughter. Hence, I have asked the police to investigate whether his murder was a fallout of love jihad,” Mr. Murugan told The Hindu after holding discussions with Collector S. Sivarasu and Tiruchi Police Commissioner V. Varadharaju on the progress of the investigation into the murder case.
Mr. Murugan added that the victim had actively taken part in efforts to dispel people’s ‘misconceptions’ about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
When a group of traders had called for the closure of shops in Gandhi Market as a mark of protest against the CAA, Raghu had successfully persuaded them to keep the shops open, he noted.
Earlier, Mr. Murugan told reporters after meeting the victim’s kin that the police had formed five special teams to nab the accused, and the case had been altered to invoke provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The District Collector had been asked to pay compensation to the victim’s family in accordance with the Act, he said.
Meanwhile, BJP national secretary H. Raja visited Raghu’s house and consoled his family. He criticised the police for failing to prevent the murder and accused them of attempting to hide the true motive behind it.
