Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh has registered its first case under the new anti-conversion law in Bareilly. The complaint was lodged by the father of a young woman. The case was registered at the Devarniyan police station in Bareilly district Saturday, officials said, Sunday. The case was registered against Uvaish Ahmed under sections of the IPC and the new anti-conversion law.
In a statement issued here Sunday, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said a case was registered by Tikaram. The latter is a resident of Sharif Nagar village under Devarniyan police station (in Bareilly). He accused Uvaish Ahmed of the same village of trying to convert his daughter through ‘allurement’ (bahla-phuslaakar).
Senior Superintendent of Police Rohit Singh Sajwan said four teams have been formed to arrest the accused.
According to the complaint, Tikaram’s daughter and Ahmed studied together in Class 12. Three years ago, the accused started exerting pressure on her to undergo religious conversion and perform ‘nikaah’ (marriage). But when the woman opposed, he threatened to kidnap her, Tikaram alleged. The complainant’s daughter married someone else in June this year. However, Ahmed continued to harass her family members, he said.
According to the complaint, Ahmed went to Tikaram’s house Saturday. He asked him to bring his daughter back from her in-laws’ house. Threatening her family, the accused told Tikaram that the woman will have to undergo religious conversion and marry him. Tikaram subsequently approached the police, and a case was registered against the accused.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel gave assent Saturday to an ordinance against forcible or fraudulent religious conversions. The ordinance provides for imprisonment up to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 50,000 under different categories.
The promulgation of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, came four days after the Yogi Adityanath government approved the draft of the legislation. The ordinance also curbs religious conversions only for the sake of marriage.
The law deals with different categories of offences. One of them states a marriage will be declared ‘null and void’ if the conversion of a woman is solely for that purpose. Those wishing to change their religion after marriage need to apply to the district magistrate.
The ordinance mainly envisages that no person shall convert, either directly or indirectly from one religion to another by use or practice of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage nor shall any person abet, convince or conspire such conversion.
The onus to prove that the conversion has not been done forcibly will lie on the person accused of the act and the convert, it said.