Indian netizens on Wednesday expressed outrage over an incident involving a 13-year-old Hindu girl in Pakistan's Sindh province, who was married off to her Muslim abductor after being kidnapped from home on 8 March. Now, her parental house has been burnt down.
On 9 March, Kavita was converted to Islam at Khanqah-i-Aalia Qadria Bharchundi Sharif, a hardline Islamist shrine, and married to one of her abductors, according to local media reports.
The girl’s family, who live in the province's Kashmore district, had already filed an First Information Report (FIR) with police against four of the alleged abductors — Mushtaq, Bhural, Rustam and Muhammad Bux. But the girl remains in the custody of Mushtaq, who reportedly married her.
In his complaint, the girl’s father has stated that the abductors threatened their family with dire consequences in case they resisted the abduction. The girl last week appeared in a local court where she reportedly claimed that she married Mushtaq against the will of her father, a senior police official from Kashmore, Amjad Shaikh, told local media.
Shaikh further said that the girl has claimed to be more than 18 years old - the marriageable age according to Pakistan's laws.
On Wednesday, videos shared on social media showed that the girl's parental home was set on fire by miscreants. They were allegedly angered by the public attention the case has received, with human rights’ groups rejecting the police version and demanding the girl be sent back to her family.
Pakistan Hindu Council chief and federal senator from the country’s governing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Ramesh Vankwani, told Sputnik that the authorities are looking into the incident and he was in touch with the girl’s family.
“A 13-year-old girl can’t be converted against her own will,” said Vankwani, as he rejected the claim that Kavita was more than 18 years old.
He has also demanded protection for the girl’s family from local authorities as their house was set ablaze.