Burqa-clad Hindu woman flying to Mumbai to marry Muslim man held at UP airport, let off by court

VARANASI: A 22-year-old burqa-clad Hindu woman was detained along with a Muslim youth at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi on Sunday evening. The woman from Gopalganj in Bihar had to board a Mumbai flight with the youth.

When the documents were being checked before issuance of boarding passes, airline officials grew suspicious when they saw her in burqa while her Aadhaar identified her as a Hindu. After initial questioning, CISF handed her and the youth accompanying her to Phulpur police.

During a police investigation it came to light that the woman from Bihar's Gopalganj lives in Mumbai with her family. She fell in love with a Muslim youth in Mumbai. When her father came to know about it, he brought the girl from Mumbai to Gopalganj to marry her off to a youth of their caste.

However, the woman informed her lover about her family's decision who sent her Mumbai flight tickets and asked her to reach Mumbai with his friend. On Sunday, the girl reached Varanasi airport with the relative of her lover.

Phulpur police station in-charge Atul Singh on Monday said that credentials of the woman and the youth accompanying her were verified and no criminal record was found.

She was produced before a magistrate where she recorded her statement. The woman reiterated that she was going to Mumbai as he wanted to marry her lover. Since she is an adult, the magistrate allowed to go, said police.