Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav Monday stated sternly that no act of ‘Jihad’ or ‘Love Jihad’ will be tolerated in the state, and anyone found indulging in such activities would be strictly punished.

“Whoever commits a crime will be punished. Our government has not permitted any form of Jihad or Love Jihad on the soil of Madhya Pradesh,” the CM asserted.

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“Anyone found indulging in such activities, whether within the state or after fleeing outside, will not be spared. Our police will apprehend them wherever they may be. This is our firm commitment,” Dr Yadav emphasized.

The CM’s strict stance is being seen in connection with the ongoing investigation by the Bhopal police in three different, but presumably interconnected cases, in which a group of Muslim boys is alleged to have carried out ‘Love Jihad’ by trapping Hindu girls in colleges and subsequently raping, blackmailing and threatening the victims.

The police have already arrested three accused on charges of rape, blackmail, and threatening, and also under the Freedom of Religion Act, on the complaint filed by three Hindu girls in different police stations of the city.

The police have also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident, as it is suspected that it might involve a gang operating a sex racket through the rape, obscene videos and blackmailing of Hindu girls.

According to Bhopal Commissioner of Police, Harinarayan Chari Mishra, the three victims have lodged cases in the Ashoka Garden police station, Bagh Sevaniya Police Station, and Jehangirabad police station of the state capital.

The mastermind Farhan Khan aka Faraz, along with Ali Khan and Sahil Khan, have been arrested.

The Commissioner said that the trio has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the MP Freedom of Religion Act, and other relevant sections.

According to police, the accused men used to introduce themselves as Hindus, and on that pretext they befriended and allegedly raped Hindu girls.

The three men are also accused of recording obscene videos and then blackmailing the victims by threatening to make the videos viral.

Police investigations have revealed that some other accused, named as Abraar Khan of Kolkata, Nabeel from Bihar, Shamsuddin alias Saad of Bhopal, and some other accused are still absconding, and police teams are in search of them.

Further police investigations are on, and sources say that the number of victims and the accused is also likely to increase in the course of the investigation.