Hindu groups launch ‘Operation Bajrang’ over alleged love jihad:Intelligence network from schools to hotels, auto drivers and students act as informers

On 20th February, workers of Bajrang Dal stopped a young man and woman who were heading to a hotel. When activists asked the man his name, he initially refused to tell them. After pressure, he revealed his name as Naseem Akram. Upon hearing this, the activists allegedly assaulted him. The youth is a resident of Delhi and had come to Ujjain with a girl from Himachal Pradesh. He was staying at a hotel near the temple area. Activists alleged that nude photos and videos of multiple girls, including the woman present, were found on his mobile phone. Police from Mahakal police station later took him into custody. This is not an isolated case. In the past two months alone, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists claim to have intercepted around 16 such cases in Ujjain where the boy was Muslim and the girl Hindu. However, in many of these cases, the couples were adults and no legal action could be taken against them. In cases where girls were minors, police registered FIRs and arrested the accused. What is noteworthy is that Bajrang Dal and VHP have built a parallel network to identify such cases. How does this network operate? Where do they get information from, and how does a WhatsApp message turn into a live operation within hours? The Bhaskar team spent about eight hours with organisation office-bearers and witnessed one such operation firsthand. They also spoke with experts and police officers to understand how long such cases stand legal scrutiny. 3 cases that illustrate the alleged pattern Case 1: The Bichhrod video scandal In Bichhrod village of Ghattiya tehsil, an objectionable video of a girl went viral on 7 May last year featuring a youth named Farman. When police arrested him, several explicit videos of other village girls were found on his phone. Investigation revealed he worked as a private agent at the Ujjain RTO and visited school-college camps where driving licence work was done. There he collected girls’ phone numbers and shared them with friends. Case 2: Sohail posing as “Rohit” In another case, a youth named Sohail befriended a minor girl under the name Rohit. When he went to meet her, his friends accidentally called him by his real name. On suspicion, he admitted he was Muslim and allegedly threatened her, saying she would have to marry him and offer namaz. Case 3: Disturbing face of alleged grooming A 15-year-old girl befriended a minor boy. Months later, after their friendship weakened, the boy introduced one of his friends to her. That friend took her to Indore on some pretext and sexually assaulted her, then allegedly forced her to wear a burqa. Hindu groups described this as “grooming love jihad”. How the Bajrang Dal-VHP network operates To understand how activists receive information about such cases, the Bhaskar team spent a day with them. On 18 February, when a youth named Zafar wearing religious symbols was caught by activists, reporters were present with them. Information on WhatsApp, workers in action The team was at a local VHP office where office-bearers were preparing for an important meeting. At 1 pm, district coordinator Rishabh Kushwah received a WhatsApp message saying a Muslim youth was staying with a Hindu girl in a hotel in Nanakheda. He immediately informed district president Rajesh Anjana, who was present there. The meeting was postponed. Anjana began making multiple calls—some to office-bearers and others to local activists familiar with Nanakheda’s geography and social layout. Even after 8–10 calls, confirmation was not obtained. A young member, Lavesh Soni, was sent with associates to verify. The Bhaskar team accompanied them. On the way, Lavesh kept calling network members, instructing them to gather outside the hotel. Around 10–12 activists were already present there, prepared to respond to any situation. Girl’s ID found, boy’s wasn’t Lavesh and his team went straight to the reception and demanded the entry register. After some hesitation and argument, staff showed it. They said only two rooms were booked that day—one by a family and another by a couple. Hearing “couple,” activists grew more suspicious. The register contained the girl’s ID but none for the boy. The staff explained that he had gone for temple darshan and would submit his ID later. Activists objected to a room being given without ID, but the situation was calmed. At their insistence, staff called the number provided during booking. The girl answered and, when told to submit the partner’s ID, replied angrily that they had already informed the hotel they had no other ID and had paid in full, then disconnected. Four hours of waiting and the young man was caught By now activists were convinced something was suspicious. It was 2 pm, and they waited near the hotel. The wait ended at 6 pm when a saffron-clad youth arrived with the girl. They surrounded him and asked his name. He hesitated, then said “Zafar.” Some youths became angry and began beating him, but senior members intervened and informed police. Nanakheda police station was barely 20 steps away, so police arrived quickly, detained him and took him to the station for further legal action. Now learn how this network works Bhaskar spoke to members to understand how such precise information reaches them. 1. Teams in every school and college
Active member Lavesh Soni said they believe such conspiracies begin mostly in educational institutions, so they have built their strongest network there. According to him, they have dedicated student teams in nearly every school and college who recruit new members weekly. 2. Monitoring activities
He explained that student teams monitor who is talking to whom and track interactions. If a Hindu girl is seen mingling with a Muslim boy, they begin observing them. 3. Surveillance after confirmation
If such individuals visit hotels, cafés or secluded places where harm could occur, the team follows them and alerts senior members, after which an action team reaches the spot and hands the boy to police. Seven important sources of information for VHP-Bajrang Dal This entire operation is based on a very extensive and multi-layered information system. The organization receives information not just from one source, but from several different sources that work like an intelligence agency. Hindu organizations’ argument – this is an organized conspiracy District president Rajesh Anjana described it as a coordinated conspiracy. He argued that when they catch someone, multiple objectionable videos of girls are often found on phones, which they say justifies their system. SP says – We take action, we don’t show Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma attributed such incidents to two main reasons—massive growth in tourist numbers (from about 25,000 to 500,000 daily) and misuse of social media. On the actions of these groups, he said police informant networks are not weak; police do take action but do not publicise it because they are not affiliated with any organisation. Expert says – No action if couple is adult Retired DSP Angad Singh Rathore explained the legal angle. Even if such groups detain a couple where the boy is Muslim and the girl Hindu, police cannot act if both are adults and the girl states she has no complaint. However, if the girl is a minor, police have full authority to act. He added that parents should remain vigilant to prevent such situations.