The police in Madhya Pradesh have formed a special investigation team to look into alleged cases of “love jihad” in the state, PTI reported.

State minister Vishwas Sarang said that “no such case will be tolerated, and the strictest action will be taken”.

“Love jihad” is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that accuses Muslim men of being part of an organised plot to trick unsuspecting Hindu women into romantic relationships to ultimately convert them to Islam. The Union home ministry has told Parliament that Indian law has no provision defining such a term.

The state government’s decision to set up a special investigation team comes in the backdrop of a case in Bhopal in which three female students alleged that they were raped and blackmailed with videos of the sexual assault in April.

According to the police, the complainants said that the persons accused in the matter had raped them after hiding their religious identities.

The case sparked protests in Bhopal by Hindutva groups, who claimed that the crime was an instance of “love jihad", PTI reported.

In the context of this case, the Madhya Pradesh Police headquarters said that it had intelligence inputs that girls and women from socially-vulnerable backgrounds had been “systematically targeted through tactics such as romantic entrapment, deception, threats or other inducements, leading to their mental, physical and social exploitation,” The Indian Express reported.

The police claimed that girls and women were being coerced into converting their religion through fear, pressure or deceit. “Such incidents are not only criminal in nature, but also pose a serious challenge to the dignity, freedom and social harmony of women,” The Indian Express quoted the police as saying.

The special investigation team has been tasked with identifying and investigating incidents of alleged forced conversion, tracing the individuals and groups who may be involved and ensuring strict action against the accused persons.

The team will also investigate interstate or international networks allegedly involved in forced religious conversion, and will recommend preventive measures.

The Bhopal (Rural) inspector general of police will head the special investigation team, The Indian Express reported. The team will also include officials such as the additional commissioner of police (crime and headquarters), the assistant inspector general of police, women safety branch, and the superintendent of police, state cyber cell.

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