Lucknow: A Muslim woman in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, faced harassment and humiliation from her family, religious leader, and co-religionists for wearing a saffron stole over her niqab. She visited the police commissioner's office with a saffron dupatta covering her headscarf, recounting her ordeal in front of the media. She stated, "I had gone to meet the Chief Minister with concerns about harassment and property conflict. However, many people told me that I am now a Hindu and hence, as per Sharia, I am not eligible for any assistance going forward."

The victim, from the Moolganj area, informed the chief minister about her predicament on December 23 while wearing the saffron dupatta. She revealed that her brothers wanted to evict her from the house due to a property dispute. Moreover, people in her neighborhood harassed her when she went out. She reported it to the authorities in 2022. She then visited CM Yogi, after which the police intervened. The photograph of the encounter went viral, creating problems for her.

Her brothers stopped feeding her, took all her belongings, including sweaters and blankets, and left her to fend for herself in the winter with just her dupatta. She disclosed that she was mocked for wearing the stole and taunted that she had become like Yogi Adityanath. Her brothers instructed her to go to him because she is Hindu now. They threw her out of the house after assaulting her, and she is currently living with her mother. Additionally, everything their father left behind, including the property, cash, and jewelry, was transferred into their names by her brothers.

The city cleric Abdul Quddus Haji initially promised to help her. However, when she visited him on November 29, 2023, he claimed that she had converted to Hinduism after meeting with the chief minister in saffron. He ordered her to leave the place, hurling abuses at her and shooing her away when she pleaded for help to survive. Furthermore, the meager assistance from her brothers was also discontinued. She was supposed to receive Rs 3000 and Rs 2000 from her two brothers, respectively, along with the fulfillment of her basic requirements like food and clothes.

Following the incident, she complained to Jamiat Ulema e Hind’s national president Arshad Madani and protested about the same, but he brushed her off, alleging that the city clergy would take care of this since it was a local problem. She also presented the audio of the conversation to the media.

The woman submitted a report to the police commissioner’s staff officer Ashok Kumar Singh, who informed that the task of conducting the probe had been entrusted to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Anita Singh. He proclaimed, "The woman and her brothers are already at odds. She has complained about it many times. The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) and taken action."

Meanwhile, the cleric has alleged that the accusations against him are false. "How can I even think of such a thing to stop her from going to meet the chief minister," he asked.

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