A development that has once again revived the controversy of religious conversions and communal strife in Madhya Pradesh, the owner of a well-known private school in Jabalpur has been arrested along with his wife and son on serious charges of abduction in the name of religious conversion and harassment. The case has been registered after a police complaint was filed by former Army Captain Akanksha Arora, who happens to be the daughter-in-law of the accused.
School Owner, Family Detained in Conversion Case
Akhilesh Meban, the owner of Joy Senior Secondary School, and his wife Neenu Meban, and their son Captain Tanay Meban, were arrested by Jabalpur police on Saturday (June 28). They were arrested under different sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, which bans forced religious conversions in the state.
It was reported by police sources that Captain Akanksha Arora, who is a former Indian Army officer, registered a complaint in the form of an FIR at the Women’s Police Station against her husband and in-laws for forcing her to change her religion before she got married in 2017. Akanksha complained that she was forced to abandon her Hindu religion and accept Christianity in a church by being pressured into renouncing her religious faith as a condition before her marriage.
In her complaint, Akanksha also added that after the marriage, she was relentlessly mentally harassed and subjected to religious pressure at the hands of her in-laws. Things went from bad to worse when she claimed that she was compelled to leave her commission in the Army, a charge that lends a serious turn to the case, considering that she is a commissioned officer.
Three days back, Akanksha had an encounter with her estranged husband, Tanay Meban, at a Jabalpur cafe to see if the case could be withdrawn. The talks, however, reportedly turned ugly, after which Akanksha reaffirmed her allegations, including the one that her in-laws tried to force her to resign from her high-ranking Army job.
A Troubled Trail of Allegations
The arrest of Joy Senior Secondary School owner Akhilesh Meban sent shockwaves across Jabalpur, but to many of the city’s residents, the latest news comes as no surprise following a series of serious controversies surrounding him over the past few months. Meban, the leading name in Jabalpur’s private education community, has found himself at the centre of intense controversies, protests, and police probes, with allegations varying from religious conversion to insulting comments against the Hindu religion.
The most high-profile of such controversies brewed in April this year when Meban purportedly tried to leave the country amid growing public outrage over his insulting social media posts against Hindu gods. Acting upon intelligence inputs, a team of Madhya Pradesh police, along with the help of cyber surveillance teams, traced Meban to Kochi, Kerala. He was intercepted by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials at Kochi International Airport when he was said to be boarding a flight in an effort to flee legal proceedings. He was then brought back to Jabalpur on transit remand for interrogation.
The social media updates that got Meban into legal trouble were inflammatory, disrespectful, and universally condemned on the political and social spectrum. In a stunning WhatsApp status message, Meban used abusive language like “Bloody Hindus” to refer to Hindus and made profoundly offensive comments against Lord Ram, one of the most revered personalities in Hinduism. The offensive message, which went viral in a matter of hours, sparked huge anger and became a cause for many Hindu organisations like the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Hindu Dharma Sena.
Following the viral status, protests broke out all over Jabalpur, particularly in the Vijay Nagar locality where Joy Senior Secondary School is situated. The school, once renowned for academic achievement, was soon the center of public outrage. Posters denouncing Meban’s remarks lined the streets as demonstrators massed around the school gates, calling for his arrest on sight and severe legal repercussions. In ritual acts of rebellion, effigies of Akhilesh Meban were burned, and billboards demanding his social boycott adorned the city.
The protests extended beyond spontaneous street demonstrations. Hindu organisations actually petitioned the High Court Bar Association and District Bar Association, asking the legal community to refrain from defending Meban or anyone accused of offending religious feelings. Hindu Dharma Sena, in its memorandum, demanded a judicial and social boycott of “anti-social elements” such as Meban because such people challenged communal harmony and challenged the cultural fabric of the area.
The police, however, moved quickly. An FIR was filed under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for inciting religious group enmity and under Information Technology Act provisions for the offensive use of internet platforms. His mobile phone, which was confiscated upon arrest, was dispatched for forensic analysis to gauge the scope of his online activity and whether it has any connection to other contentious incidents.
This was not the first time Meban’s name had come up during religious tensions in Jabalpur. In March, only a few days prior to the social networking site controversy, a bus purportedly carrying tribals for religious conversion was intercepted by Hindu extremists, triggering an angry confrontation. Meban’s later inflammatory social media content was interpreted as a response to that episode, further intensifying suspicion regarding his suspected role of facilitating conversions, a charge now actually formalised in the newest FIR lodged by his daughter-in-law, Captain Akanksha Arora.
Police Confirm Arrests, Investigation Continues
Jabalpur Women’s Police Station In-charge Bhumeswari Chauhan, speaking to the media, assured that the arrests are confirmed and there is a thorough investigation going on. All the sides of the case, including the alleged forced conversions, the allegations of harassment, and the reasons behind Akanksha’s resignation from the Army, are being investigated by the police.
“We are probing the case thoroughly. The case has been lodged under appropriate sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act,” Chauhan said.
