Days after dentist’s murder in J&K, protesters allege ‘love jihad’

Jammu, March 10

Two days after a female dentist was killed by her male friend hailing from another community, several Hindu organisations staged a protest in Jammu on Friday.

Terming the murder as “love jihad”, the protesters said the police should present it as the rarest of the rare case to ensure court delivers the “harshest” punishment to him. Dr Sumedha Sharma (27), a resident of Talab Tillo, was murdered allegedly by Johar Ganai (30), son of Mehmood Ganai, a resident of Bhaderwah. He had been residing in Pamposh Colony in Janipur of Jammu.

Both had studied together in a private dental college of Jammu. They had been reportedly in a relationship for the past few years. Later, the girl went out of J&K to pursue MDS.

On Holi, Sumedha visited the accused in his Janipur accommodation where an altercation broke out between them and he stabbed her to death. Ganai got himself injured. He has been admitted to the Government Medical College, Jammu.

Rakesh Bajrangi, president of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, compared the murder of Dr Sumedha Sharma with that of Shraddha Walkar in New Delhi who was killed by her live-in partner Aftab Amin Poonawalla.

Bajrangi said the Central Government should bring a legislation against “love jihad” and religious conversions. “We are warning the government to bring this legislation immediately as such cases are on the rise,” he said. The police have already registered a case against Ganai under Section 302 (murder) and have been waiting for him to recover to interrogate him.

According to the police, after the murder, relatives of Johar Ganai saw his post on social media in which he claimed that he was going to commit suicide. “The Janipur police was alerted by the relatives of the man. As soon as the police broke open the door of the house, they saw the body of the girl in a pool of blood with the accused sitting beside it. Both were taken to the hospital,” a police official said.

Photos in which victim and accused were seen together flooded social media in J&K and elsewhere.

Accused attempts suicide

• After killing Dr Sumedha Sharma (27), accused Johar Ganai (30), hailing from Bhaderwah, reportedly posted on social media that he was going to end his life.
• The police broke open the door to find the woman dead and the accused sitting beside the body. He has been admitted to the Government Medical College in Jammu.