On Sunday, a section of the media reported state Police Chief Loknath Behera as saying that Love Jihad exists in the state, though he corrected it later.
The reports were referring to the DGP’s statement in Kochi on Saturday that religious conversions were taking place in the state and the police had received information on this.
“The police has been probing a case related to conversion while the NIA is probing other related case,” he had said at a function in Kochi.
But late on Saturday night, after the statement has been widely discussed, Behera came out with a clarification stating that there is no confirmed case of Love Jihad reported in the state and his earlier statement was totally misunderstood.
“The reports saying that the state police chief has confirmed Love Jihad are wrong,” the DGP said in the statement.
“I only said that we are keeping an eye on the allegations from various quarters in the state. The Supreme Court has ordered an inquiry into such an allegation in one case (Hadiya case). Therefore it is our duty to find out whether that is correct or not,” Behera said in the statement, reports Times of India.
It further said, “Till now, the police do not have any data to confirm whether the so-called Love Jihad is prevalent in the state.”
The Supreme Court in August had ordered the NIA to conduct a detailed probe into the Hadiya conversion case.
Days after his retirement, former DGP TP Senkumar had also said in an interview that Love Jihad exists in the state.
While his statement had sparked controversy, he had even explained that the High Court had asked him to enquire about two cases in this connection when he was the DGP in the state.