Jaipur, Mar 5 (PTI) With the alleged sexual exploitation of five Hindu minor girls by some Muslim men and boys rocking parts of Rajasthan, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday demanded a strict law to address "love jihad" and "land jihad".

Addressing a press conference here, VHP regional secretary Suresh Upadhyay alleged that both love jihad and land jihad have become nationwide problems and Rajasthan is also not untouched by them.

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Citing the alleged Beawar blackmail case, he said Muslim youths systematically befriend Hindu girls in various ways and exploit them.

Five minor girls were allegedly exploited and blackmailed by 10 youths, eight of whom are Muslims, and three minor boys, all Muslims, in Beawar district recently. Cases were registered in the Bijainagar police station.

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"Muslim boys deceive Hindu girls, trap them and then blackmail them by making obscene videos of them under the influence of drugs or threats. Muslim girls also help the Muslim boys in this," he alleged at a press conference in Jaipur.

"Physical exploitation happens and several cases of gang rape also occur. No town or city in Rajasthan is untouched by love jihad incidents.

"Many girls end up committing suicide when the truth about these Muslim youths comes out. Their families often hide the incident due to fear of social disgrace," he said.

Upadhyay said only a few girls with courage file cases.

"One such love jihad incident was registered at the Bijainagar police station in Beawar district and another one at Kotwali police station in Bhilwara," he said.

The VHP leader alleged that in the past two years, more than 24 cases related to "love jihad" have been registered in Bhilwara district alone.

"The police usually do not consider these incidents as love jihad cases, but rather as love affairs. They take minimal action, often covering them up," he said.

He further alleged that under a nationwide conspiracy, Muslims systematically created illegal possessions of government land by first establishing a tomb (mazar) and converting it into a religious site.

"Over time, the tomb expands, leading to unlawful occupation of large tracts of land. When locals oppose such illegal land occupation under the guise of religious sites, these disputes often escalate into communal riots," he said.

He said strict laws are needed to curb cases of love jihad and land jihad.

The Bijainagar Police registered three FIRs on February 16 based on complaints from the victims' family members.

Investigating officer Sher Singh said the arrested individuals include eight Muslims and two Hindus, who are cafe operators. The three minors are also Muslims.

The case came to light after one of the minor girls stole Rs 2,000 from her father's wallet, allegedly to pay one of the accused. A Chinese mobile phone, with which she was allegedly speaking to the accused, was also recovered from her later.

After the incident, the families of the accused, the local Jama Masjid and a century-old graveyard received encroachment notices from the Bijainagar municipality administration. A few of the encroachments have already been removed.

Hindu organisations in Ajmer took out a protest rally on March 1, demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged sexual exploitation of five minor girls of the community.

The 'Aakrosh Rally' was taken out from Gandhi Bhawan to Ajmer Collectorate in Bijainagar, where the protesters held a dharna. The markets remained closed in the area.

The protesters also called for examining the registration of madrasas in Ajmer and asked for strict action on hookah bars that have become hubs of "immoral activities".

On March 2, Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani sought the formation of a special investigation team for a detailed investigation into the allegations of sexual assault and blackmail of the schoolgirls.

Devnani directed senior officials of the district to probe the source of funding of the accused and demolish any illegal property owned by them.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)