How a Hindu family's death by suicide sparked 'love jihad' politics in Andhra Pradesh

The spectre of ‘love jihad’ has come to trouble Andhra Pradesh after a Hindu family of three jumped to death into the Godavari river, alleging harassment, extortion and a forceful conversion attempt by a Muslim man.

Kovvuri Soujanya, her father T. Nookaraju, who was an assistant engineer with the panchayati raj department, mother Meena, and Soujanya’s 10-year-old son Riyansh together jumped off the Rajahmundry rail-cum-road bridge on the night of August 16. The family had alleged prolonged torture and coercion by Shaik Sadhik Khan on Soujanya to convert to Islam.

Khan is a rifle-shooting instructor in Kakinada. Riyansh used to train at his academy in the coastal town. Khan was apprehended by the state police from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut following a five-day operation across states.

While Riyansh managed to stay afloat in the river and was rescued by fishermen, the bodies of Soujanya and her parents were found downstream days later.

Police said that in her suicide note, Soujanya had alleged harassment by Khan as the reason for her death. The 34-year-old woman also alleged that Khan had killed her husband Jagadishwar Reddy in July by administering a chemical substance (in energy/protein drinks).

The suicide pact and the emerging reasons for the family’s extreme step have played out loud in the media in Andhra Pradesh. The Kakinada district police said they were investigating the ‘love jihad’ angle. Khan has been booked and sent to judicial custody on various charges, including forcible conversion of religion, murder and extortion.

Unlike North India or even neighbouring Telangana, communal politics is not seen as a factor in Andhra Pradesh. But this case has taken a different line. While top leaders of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Opposition Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) of former chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy have held their tongues, given the religious sensitivities involved, and the BJP’s response too has been muted, Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena, which is part of the government, is seeking justice for Soujanya's family and the surviving boy.

The Soujanya-Nookaraju family is from Pithapuram assembly constituency and Kakinada Lok Sabha seat—both represented by the JSP. Pawan Kalyan is the MLA from Pithapuram.

The most vocal voice being heard in the matter is of Vijayasai Reddy, Jagan Reddy’s key confidant and YSRCP general secretary and parliamentary party leader until he exited the organisation and politics in January 2025.

Vijayasai, making a comeback into politics, has accused both the TDP and YSRCP of suppressing the ‘love jihad’ angle out of “fear of losing minority votes”. Vijayasai had recently announced plans to launch his political outfit aimed at ushering in a “new era of politics” in Andhra Pradesh.

Vijayasai, a former Rajya Sabha MP, said the Kakinada case was the worst of all ‘love-jihad’ cases witnessed in the country. He visited the victim’s wider family and sought the death penalty for accused Khan.

“The pseudo-secular parties cannot stop love jihad. But should we remain silent when such elements are barging into our houses, molesting our women and eliminating our families? Every person in Andhra Pradesh should respond to this threat; there should be a discussion in every home,” Vijayasai said in a belligerent post on X.

Later, speaking to INDIA TODAY, Vijayasai alleged “several love jihad and such fanatical gangs” were operating in the Godavari and north Andhra districts, from Visakhapatnam to Srikakulam. “Unlike the Rayalaseema, Guntur and Nellore regions, the Muslim population is meagre here, which is why they have targeted these areas to spread their numbers by any means,” alleged Vijayasai, claiming a few Hindu families, who had faced harassment like Soujanya’s family, had approached him.

As if giving credence to Vijayasai’s claims, earlier this week, a woman complained to Kakinada superintendent of police (SP) Bindu Madhav that her husband, Ghouse Mohiuddin, had forcibly converted her to Islam. Sirivuri Balaramya, the complainant, alleged that Mohiuddin had changed her name to Umal Khair and had been torturing her for years.

Balaramya, who declared her return to Hindu faith by accepting kumkum applied on the forehead by her mother, alleged Mohiuddin had trapped and harassed other Hindu women too. Local BJP leaders, who came out in support of Balaramya, have sought an in-depth police probe into alleged ‘love jihad’ cases in the region.

Vijayasai is demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the Soujanya episode as well as the alleged ‘love jihad’ network in the state. He has also demanded a stringent anti-conversion law in Andhra Pradesh.

Tangella Uday Srinivas, the Jana Sena’s Kakinada Lok Sabha MP, maintained that the Soujanya case had all the characteristics of ‘love jihad’. “Lonely women or those with family frictions or disputes with husbands are the apparent target of such elements, trapping them with false love and affection. A CBI probe should get to the depth of the matter,” said Srinivas.

Last week, Srinivas had brought Riyansh before the media, with his face covered. “I like rifle shooting. As it was being withdrawn from my school, Sadhik Khan asked me to join his academy,” said the boy when asked how Khan had allegedly gotten in touch with his mother.

“[Later] he was torturing, physically assaulting my mother. He threatened to hand me over to terrorists if I spoke about it,” the boy claimed.

Amidst accusations of the police not investigating the case with adequate seriousness, Kakinada SP Bindu Madhav said that police custody of the accused had been sought to probe all angles.

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