A political slugfest erupted between the AAP and the BJP on Monday following the gruesome killing of a 16-year-old girl allegedly by her boyfriend in Shahbad Dairy area. While AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought to corner Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena over the poor law and order situation in the national Capital, the Delhi BJP termed the brutal killing an incident of ‘Love Jihad’ and compared it with the Shraddha Walkar murder case. Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal wrote, “A minor girl was brutally murdered in Delhi. This is very sad and unfortunate. The criminals have become fearless, there is no fear of the police. LG sir, law and order is your responsibility, do something. The safety of the people of Delhi is of paramount importance”. Kejriwal’s comment on Delhi LG comes in the backdrop of the row over Centre’s ordinance which limited the Delhi Government’s powers. BJP MP Hans Raj Hans termed the brutal killing of a minor girl in northwest Delhi “very painful” and said youths sometimes get “carried away by emotions” and act like “fools”. Hans who, along with local BJP leaders, met the family of the victim, said the “strictest” punishment should be given to the guilty in the murder of the girl in his constituency.
He said it was a “very painful” incident that came to his knowledge on Sunday night and since then he was in touch with the police for quick action to arrest the accused.
The Delhi BJP claimed the gruesome murder was a case of “love jihad”, and slammed the AAP for “trying to portray” it as an “ordinary” murder and a “law and order” issue.
In a statement, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the case should be tried in a fast track court. “The brutal murder of a Hindu girl by youth Sahil Sarfaraz in Shahbad has once again shown that Love Jihad has now rocked Delhi as well,” Sachdeva said.
‘Love jihad’ is a term often used by Right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage. The Aftab Poonawalla-Shraddha Walkar case a few months ago jolted Delhi, and now this has once again warned Delhiites to beware of ‘Love Jihad’, said Sachdeva.
He alleged Kejriwal was afraid of losing the votes of the minority community and was, therefore, “portraying” it as an “ordinary” murder instead of ‘love jihad.’ BJP leader Kapil Mishra, too, compared the murder with the Walkar case, wherein the woman was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into several parts.
“This painful murder has happened in Delhi. Shraddha (Walkar) hasn’t got justice yet. Don’t know how many more Shraddhas will become victims of this brutality,” he said.
Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal slammed the Delhi Police and alleged that “no one is afraid” of the police or the law in the national Capital. “I have never seen such a frightening case.