Muslim woman votes for BJP in Madhya Pradesh, thrashed by relative

A 30-year-old Muslim woman was beaten by her brother-in-law in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore after she allegedly voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recently held Assembly elections.

Reportedly, the woman's family was also irked after she celebrated the party's electoral win.

According to the complaint filed by the woman, Samina B, the incident happened in the Ahmedpur area of Sehore on December 4, 2023, when she was celebrating the landslide victory of the BJP in the state.

Objecting to her celebrations, her brother-in-law, Javed Khan, started abusing her.

When Samina questioned Javed's language, he started thrashing her with a stick due to which she sustained injuries to her hands and other parts of her body.

He also threatened Samina with dire consequences if she continued her support for the BJP.

After receiving the complaint, Sehore Police registered a case under Sections 294 (related to the usage of obscene words in public), Section 323, (related to voluntarily causing hurt to any person), Section 506 (related to criminal intimidation) and Section 34 (related to criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention).

Speaking about the case, a police official told India Today, "We received a complaint from a woman that her brother-in-law had beaten her. We have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the accused will be nabbed at the earliest".

On Friday, December 8, Samina also met the Sehore's District Magistrate, Praveen Singh Adhayach, and demanded strict action in the case.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, she said, "He (Javed Khan) was angry as I voted for the BJP. I received several injuries after being beaten by him. Today, DM has promised to conduct an inquiry in the case and take action in the case."

The BJP won 163 of the 230 seats in the state.