`Love Jihad' guns for Sikh girls

'Love Jihad' has taken a virulent form. An SMS has gone viral on the social networking platform WhatsApp, stating Muslim youths marrying girls belonging to other religions are eligible for cash awards. The 'Students of Muslim Youth Forum' message in Gujarat encourages Muslim boys to entice girls from other communities in love and tie the knot. The message says: “If a Muslim youth marries a Hindu Brahmin girl, he would be awarded with Rs 5 lakhs. Similarly if someone gets hitched with a Sikh Punjabi girl, he would be given Rs 7 lakhs. “If the girl is from Kshatriya Hindu community, the cash reward would be Rs 4.5 lakhs, Gujarati Brahmin girl Rs 6 lakhs, Punjabi Hindu Rs 6 lakhs, Christian Roman Cathlolic Rs 4 lakhs, Christian Protestant Rs 3 lakhs, Jain Rs 3 lakhs, Gujarati Kutch girl Rs 3 lakhs.” The message gives four addresses from where the Muslim youth, who successfully marries a girl from another religion, can collect their reward. It also mentions 11 phone numbers. Meanwhile, the Vadodara Police have asked people to ignore such messages and apprise the authorities in case they receive it on their cell phones.