Accused of ‘love jihad’, Junaid Jamadar said four men told him to pack his bags immediately.
On April 7, Junaid Jamadar, a first-year student of Savitribai Phule Pune University, was on his way to hostel with friends after having lunch at Refectory, the university mess, when he was stopped by four men on motorcycles. Junaid and his friends were asked to produce their identity cards.
Confused, the students – two men, two women– handed over their IDs. The group of men, whom they couldn’t recognise, sorted through their Aadhaar cards and then turned to Junaid.
“They asked if I am Muslim,” the 19-year-old told Newslaundry. “When I said yes, they asked ‘What are you doing here with Hindu girls? You have come here to do love jihad.’”
Before Junaid could respond, the men “started beating me and hurling religious slurs at me”, he said. They also snatched his phone, telephoned his father, and allegedly said they would “kill his son”. While assaulting Junaid, they also allegedly told him they were members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad.
By that evening, Junaid’s family arrived in Pune and he filed an FIR at the Chaturshringi police station. Two days later, he’s still overcome by the trauma of what happened on campus.
“They slapped me seven or eight times,” he told Newslaundry. “They slapped my male friend. They took our two female friends aside and threatened them, saying they should not talk to or befriend Muslim boys, that they should stay away. They then sent the girls back to the hostel.”
This story was originally published in newslaundry.com. Read the full story here.