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- HT Correspondent

DEHRADUN: An interfaith couple, who were provided six-week police protection on an order from Uttarakhand High Court in December last year, alleged threats to their lives after their notice for marriage under the Special Marriage Act, carrying their photos and personal details, went viral on social media.

Mohammad Shanu (22) and Aakansha Kandari (23), both residents of Udham Singh Nagar district, filed a notice for marriage with the sub-divisional magistrate court in Bazpur, as mandated under the SMA, on January 7.

"Ever since the notice of marriage went viral, I feel a threat to my life every time I step out of my house," said Shanu.

He alleged that workers of the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu right-wing outfit, remained stationed outside the SDM court.

"My girlfriend's mother told her that she can marry me but she would snap all ties with her. Now, members of the Bajrang Dal have been insisting her to file an objection with the administration," he alleged.

Under the Special Marriage Act, 1954—which provides for the registration of interfaith and inter-caste marriage—the couple have to give notice to the marriage registrar.

The woman's mother, aided by some Bajrang Dal members, has allegedly submitted a complaint with the Bazpur SDM to "get her daughter back." The Bajrang Dal claimed it to be a "clear case of love jihad," and that the woman was being "pressured to change her religion and live with the Muslim man."

The couple dismissed the claim.