Hindu nationalist supporters, including BJP MLA Tejeswar Parida, protested outside a local police station over an interfaith marriage, accusing a Muslim man of kidnapping and forcibly converting the woman and describing the case as “love jihad.” They alleged that Muslim youths were operating a conversion “racket” around local schools, funded internationally, and claimed the woman had been taken to Andhra Pradesh, converted at a mosque and “brainwashed” into believing she was Muslim and should wear a burqa. They alleged that the man and other Muslim youths had previously attempted to take her before she turned 18, and claimed more Hindu girls would be targeted. One speaker also alleged that Muslim youths were bringing mutton to the police station on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays as part of the alleged racket, and claimed the man had inappropriate photos of the woman and was blackmailing her. They demanded that she be kept at the police station for several more days and returned to her parents, warning that otherwise they would consider the police administration complicit.