Two people are detained in Udham Sing in Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, for violating the anti-conversion law, according to police.
The names of the two people who were arrested are Vikas Kumar and Ankit Kumar. Both of them are residents of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. In this regard, the case has been registered at Kichha police station under sections 3 and 5 of the 2018 Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act.
As per the police, in a complaint registered by the former gram pradhan, he alleged that on June 7, unidentified individuals were persuading residents of Kichha’s Sonera Bengali Colony in Udham Singh Nagar district to convert their religion. The former gram pradhan alleged, “The religious conversations were happening in the area for the last three days from a rented accommodation”.
The police station in-charge of Kichha, Dhirendra Kumar, stated, “On the complaint of a gram pradhan, we registered the case on Saturday (June 10) and arrested the two on the same day. It has been alleged that these men were luring people to convert. Our investigation into the matter is underway”.
Last year, in order to strengthen the state’s anti-conversion legislation, the Uttarakhand Assembly passed the “Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act 2022″ on November 30. Under the amendment, the fraudulent conversion will now be a cognizable and non-bailable offence and attracts imprisonment from 3 years to 10 years, and a fine of up to Rs 50,000 will be levied upon the accused. Earlier, the maximum punishment was only three years.
The amendment also defines ‘Mass Conversion’, which means where the religion of two or more persons is converted. The victims would also be eligible for reimbursement of five lakh rupees through the court. The amendment was made becuase of the growing cases of forced conversions and love jihad in the state.
Last year in December, the first case was registered under this amendment law. As per the sources, a man named Saqib Saifi concealed his identity and used the name Shiv Thakur to lure a young woman to convert her forcefully. He faked his identity and raped the woman, and pressured her to change her religion. The man is a resident of Bambagar in Uttar Pradesh.
According to the reports, the woman met the accused through social media in Ramnagar, Uttrakhand. When the woman came to know about Saifi’s true identity, she filed a complaint. On the basis of her complaint, the Nanital police station lodged an FIR (First Information Report) against Saqib Saifi and four of his relatives, Ghazala, Rahila, Saba, and Yunus, under relevant sections of IPC and the Freedom of Religion Act, 2018.
The Senior Superintendent of Police in Nainital, Pankaj Bhatt, stated, “The report has been filed under Section 3 of the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act. However, it can be placed in the category of pressure for conversion, not conversion. In the new government order, there is a provision of strict punishment for the accused. After the order comes, action will be taken according to the new rule”.
The Circle Officer of Bhowali, Baljit Singh Bhakuni, stated, “After a medical examination, the victim’s statement under Section 164 will be taken, and further action will be taken based on her statements”. He further said, “The accused wanted to convert the girl on the pretext of marriage, the girl refused to convert and then she was physically abused”.
The SHO of Ramnagar, Arun Kumar Saini states, “The woman lodged a complaint against Saqib alleging that the accused assaulted her and threatened to kill her”. He further said, “Saqib Saifi, Saba, Yunus, Rahila and Ghazala have been booked under sections 323, 354/354D, 376, 504/506 and the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act 2018”.
Recently in April, a 25-year-old woman named Jashoda Sharma registered a police complaint against one Liaqat Ali for trapping her into a fake relationship by posing as a Hindu man, Samar. The Uttarakhand police registered a case against the man under sections of the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act.
The accused family forced her to embrace Islam offer Namaz, keep Roza and eat ‘beef’. She was also to wear Burqa and Hijab at home.
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