Just days after Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel had given assent to the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, against forcible or fraudulent religious conversions, the UP police has made its first arrest under the new anti-conversion law, reports The Deccan Chronicle.
A father had raised a complaint his daughter was being regularly harassed in a bid to change her religion, officials said on Thursday (December 3).
“This is the first arrest under the new law. Accused Owais Ahmad was arrested from the Richha railway gate in the Bahedi area here on Wednesday. He was produced before a local court and was sent to 14 days judicial custody,” Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Bareilly, Rajesh Kumar Pandey said.
Under the Vidhi Virudh Dharmantaran 2020 ordinance, a person could face a prison term of 5-10 years for indulging in forced religious conversions and it also carries a maximum fine of Rs 50,000 under different categories.
The case was registered at the Devarniya police station in Bareilly district on November 28 against Ahmad, under the state new law.
Based on a complaint from Tikaram, the father of the Hindu girl who happens to be a resident of Sharif Nagar village in Devarniya, a case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-conversion law.
The complainant has accused Ahmad, a resident of the same village, of trying to convert his daughter through “allurement”, police said. The boy and girl had gone to same school and had studied together in Class 12.
As per the complaint, Ahmad started pressurising his daughter three years ago to undergo religious conversion and perform ‘nikaah’ (marriage) with him. However, when the girl refused he threatened to kidnap her which is quite similar to the Nikita Tomar case that took place in Haryana.
The complainant’s daughter married someone else in June but Ahmad continued to harass her and her family members, he has alleged.
Under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, a marriage will be declared “null and void” if the conversion of a woman is solely for that purpose to change her religion and if a change of religion is required after marriage they must apply to the district magistrate.
The law was implemented just four days ago by the Yogi Adityanath government in the state.