A 23-year-old student in Kerala died by suicide, allegedly after she was “tortured” by a man and his family who insisted that she convert to his faith.
The issue has triggered anger in Kerala, with the Kerala Hindu Aikyavedi and Syro-Malabar Church flagging it as a case of “love jihad”.
The woman, Sona Eldose, from Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, was found dead at her house on Saturday. After a purported suicide note was recovered from her room, police on Monday arrested the man, Ramees, and charged him with abetting suicide and physical assault. Two weeks ago, Ramees, a part-time employee at Cochin International Airport, was picked up by the police on allegations of immoral trafficking.
In the note, Sona, a college student, alleged: “When he was caught for immoral traffic, I pardoned him. But he, again and again, proved that he doesn’t love me. I was ready for a registered marriage (without religious ceremonies). But he wanted me to convert. After taking me out of my home under the pretext of registering the marriage, he lodged me at his house, where his family members insisted that I should convert. When I refused, they tortured me.”
Sona’s brother Basil told the media that she and Ramees met in college. “She was earlier ready to convert. But three months ago, our father died, and the marriage could only be held a year later. Earlier this month, when Ramees was caught for immoral trafficking, Sona changed her mind on converting. But he was insistent and wanted to stay at a religious centre at Ponnani (in Malappuram) for two months. They even made arrangements to take her there. When she refused to go, Ramees and his family members tortured her after detaining her at their house,” he alleged.
The woman eventually returned home, where she took the extreme step.
Police said Sona sent the note to Ramees’s mother on Saturday. She then informed Sona’s mother, Bindu, who was away from home. When Bindu reached home, Sona was dead. It was initially registered as a case of unnatural death, but Ramees was made an accused following the recovery of the purported suicide note and WhatsApp chats between the two.
Story continues below this ad
R V Babu, the state president of Kerala Hindu Aikyavedi, an umbrella outfit of Sangh Parivar organisations, said Kerala’s “secular” society is busy criticising the film, The Kerala Story, even though it reflects the truth.
Syro-Malabar Church’s media commission said political parties should show the courage to oppose all tendencies that pose a threat to secularism. “It is sad that girls still fail to understand the religious extremists who make use of genuine love as a weapon of betrayal. It is expected that the law will take its course. Or, are we going to see the law taking the course of certain organised forces?” the commission said in a statement.
It said forced conversion is happening in Kothamangalam (Kerala), and not in Chhattisgarh, where two nuns were arrested recently.
