New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh police has arrested a teenager, under contentious anti-conversion law for allegedly trying to convert a 16-year-old Hindu girl. The boy was taken into custody on December 15, following a complaint by the girl’s father, who had claimed that he hid his real identity to convince the girl.
Speaking to reporters, Sanjay Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Bijnor (Rural) said that the accused Saqib kidnapped a girl and forced her to convert her religion. “A girl from Dhampur was missing for the past few days. However, the police found both girl and the accused. After interrogation, the man was arrested for abducting and forcing a girl to convert her religion,” Kumar told ANI.
“Saqib hid his real identity and introduced himself as Sonu to the girl. He kidnapped her and tried to force her to convert the religion. A case filed under ordinance against unlawful religious conversions and the SC/ST Act,” he added.
Contrary to this, the girl, while speaking to a leading stated that the boy was not trying to convert her. “Around 11.30 pm some people caught hold of us – the villagers beat us up. They accused us of theft. They caught one boy, I don’t know who he was, and they caught me. I did not know who the boy was. It is not true that he was trying to convert me,” NDTV quoted the girl as saying.
Earlier in November, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel had promulgated the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance 2020. The new law mandates a jail term of the accused between one to five years, with a Rs 15,000 penalty, if convicted for carrying out forceful conversions for marriage.
(With agency inputs)