Uttar Pradesh: Woman, paramour held for conversion, circumcision of 11-year-old son

VARANASI: Chilh police in Mirzapur district arrested a woman and her paramour for ensuring the circumcision of her 11-year-old son for conversion.
The woman, who belonged to a Muslim family of Lakhanpur village in Mirzapur, had married one Arun Singh of Nangal Khedi in Haryana almost 15 years ago by hiding her religion.
Producing arrested couple before reporters on Sunday, Mirzapur additional SP (operations) Mahesh Singh Atri said, “On the complaint of Arun, Chilh police had lodged a named FIR against Sharif, his two relatives and the accused woman, Baby, under sections of IPC and also the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance. Sharif and Baby had been arrested on Saturday while two other accused were being searched by police.”
During initial investigation, it came to light that the woman, originally from Mirzapur, had gone to the place of her sister in Haryana 15 years ago where she met Arun and married him by posing as a Hindu. The couple had an 11-year-old son and two daughters of nine and seven years old. When Covid-19 pandemic struck two years ago, the woman requested Arun to take her to the place of her father in Mirzapur’s Lakhanpur.
On reaching the house of the woman’s father, Arun became aware that she belonged to a Muslim family. Despite the revelation, Arun tried to take her and children to Haryana after their stay here. But she refused to go back and began to live with her paramour Sharif.
In his complaint, Arun alleged that four months ago, Sharif and his two relatives ensured circumcision of the boy. After this, Sharif took the woman and her three children to Pune. Arun had been camping in Mirzapur for the past four months. When the woman returned to Mirzapur recently, Arun talked to her and later lodged the FIR against her, Sharif and his two relatives, Phullan and Aftab.
Chilh station officer Ajit Kumar Srivastava said that legal formalities to give the son and daughters of Arun under the custody of district child welfare committee were in progress. Children will stay with CWC till the court issues any order in their case, he added.