New Delhi: Police on Wednesday stopped an interfaith wedding, which was taking place with the consent of both families in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow city. A team from Para Police Station intervened in the matter on the complaint of some Hindu outfits and prevented the rituals citing the newly enacted Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020.

Raina Gupta, 22, was to marry her childhood friend Mohammad Asif, 24. The wedding was to be first solemnised according to Hindu rituals and then as per Muslim tradition, The Clarion India reported.

Relatives of the bride and bridegroom were extremely upset over the police action. Shirish Gupta, a relative from bride’s side said,

“The marriage was taking place in the presence of both the families but the police stopped the ceremonies. The guests were sent back without dinner. Could have never imagined such an incident would take place in Independent India,” he said.

According to reports, a Hindu Mahasabha district president Brijesh Shukla had submitted a complaint about the wedding in writing. Moreover, members of some other Hindu extremist groups had also objected to the wedding.

According to reports, a Hindu Mahasabha district president Brijesh Shukla had submitted a complaint about the wedding in writing.

Para Police Station SHO Triloki Singh said, “Some representatives of Hindu Yuva Vahini objected to the wedding and we stopped the wedding and told them that under the new conversion law, you can only get married if you have notified the District Magistrate for the specified period of time. We told them that it should not seem that there is pressure to convert.”

 Reacting to the police intervention, bride’s father Vijay Gupta said, “I was unaware, until the police told us, that even after consent from all the parties, an interfaith marriage can be held only with the district magistrate’s approval.”

Raina and Mohammad Asif can now marry only after two months from the date of informing the District Magistrate.