Bihar hate crime: Two held for forcing sindoor on woman’s forehead

Police said both the man and the woman were Muslims and relatives, contrary to reports that they belonged to different religious communities.

Bihar: Two people have been arrested in relation to the harassment and forceful application of sindoor on the forehead of a Muslim woman in Bihar‘s Nawada district.

Dharmendra Kumar and Bahadur Chaudhary were among the 15 people who gheraoed the woman, forced her to remove her niqab and made her male companion apply sindoor on her forehead.

The incident occurred in Madhopor, Charki Pahad, Kamalpur area. A video of the incident emerged on social media platforms on July 8. She is seen pleading with the Hindutva mob to stop, but her repeated appeals go unheard.

Nawada Police has identified all 15 people and arrested two. Search is on to nab the remaining. Speaking on it, Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Rahul Singh said that the couple were both Muslims.

“The man with the woman is also a Muslim. They are relatives. The woman was returning home after giving an exam. Upon reaching Charki Pahad, they decided to rest under a tree,” the officer said.

The 15-member mob approached them and started harassing them. They removed her niqab and forced the man to apply sindoor on her forehead several times, a ritual common in Hindu marriages.

They tried to escape on a motorcycle, but the mob followed them and made videos without their consent. The bike was registered in the name of Parvati Devi, a resident of Rajauli police station area. She told police she had earlier sold the two-wheeler to Feroza Khatoon, a resident of Sirdala police station area

Further investigations are underway.