In a first, NIA registers investigation report in Kerala's 'love jihad' row

New Delhi: The NIA on Friday registered an FIR in connection with the conversion and marriage of a Hindu woman to a Muslim man in Kerala, on the directive of the Supreme Court.

In a statement, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in compliance with the August 16 order of the Supreme Court, the FIR related to Kerala's Perinthalmanna police station in Mallapuram district has been re-registered by the probe agency for investigation.

The Supreme Court had on Wednesday asked NIA to probe the case of conversion and marriage of a Hindu woman to a Muslim man, as the agency claimed it was not an isolated incident but a ‘pattern’ emerging in Kerala.

The Kerala High Court had annulled the marriage, terming it as an instance of "love jihad".

Read: Supreme Court directs NIA to probe love jihad in Kerala

The apex court directed NIA to probe the incident under the supervision of a retired apex court judge, Justice R V Raveendaran.

The top court observed that like in the 'Blue Whale' - an internet game which allegedly gives series of tasks to players with a final challenge requiring him or her to commit suicide, it was now easy to persuade someone to perform a particular task.

"This will not be a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The NIA shall carry out the probe under the supervision of retired judge Justice R V Raveendaran," a bench comprising of Chief Justice J S Khehar and D Y Chandrachud had said.

The bench said it wanted the probe to be fair and the NIA, being an independent agency outside the state of Kerala, can conduct the probe in an impartial manner and will have a different point of view.

Read: Kerala HC annuls marriage of woman forced to convert to Islam

"Before forming any opinion or arriving at a conclusion, we would like to consider the NIA's probe report, inputs from the Kerala Police and talks with the woman," it said.

The bench directed the NIA to submit its final investigation report in the court to enable it to arrive at any conclusion in the matter.

The woman, a Hindu, had converted to Islam and later married Jahan. It was alleged that the woman was recruited by Islamic State's mission in Syria and Jahan was only a stooge.

Ashokan K M, the father of the woman, had alleged that there was a "well-oiled systematic mechanism" for conversion and Islamic radicalisation.

The high court, while declaring the marriage "null and void", had described the case as an instance of "love jihad" and ordered the state police to conduct probe into such cases.