Bareilly: The Uttar Pradesh Police made its first arrest — a 21-year-old Muslim man —under the newly-implemented anti-conversion law in Bareilly district Wednesday.
The Deputy Inspector General of the Bareilly range, Rajesh Pandey, confirmed the arrest.
“We have made the arrest under the FIR that was registered under the new Ordinance, after it was cleared by the Honourable Governor,” he told ThePrint.
A case had been registered against Uwais Ahmed on 28 November under the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, for allegedly attempting to forcibly convert a Hindu girl at the Deorania Police Station in Bareilly. Ahmed had been absconding ever since.
The ordinance was cleared by UP Governor Anandiben Patel on the same day.
Sansar Singh, superintendent of police of Bareilly, said, “This is the first arrest under the new anti-conversion law in the state.”
Daya Shankar, the station house master of the Deorania Police Station, told ThePrint that the complaint was filed by Tikaram, the girl’s father, who is a resident of Sharifnagar in the district.
Tikaram had accused Ahmed of threatening his daughter’s life and forcibly trying to convert her.
The police had registered the case under Sections 3 and 5 of the new law against Ahmed, as well as the Indian Penal Code section related to threat to life.
Also read: UP not first to target ‘love jihad’, 2 states have law against forced conversions for marriage
Ahmed sent to 14-day judicial custody
After his arrest, Ahmed was produced before the judicial magistrate Priyanka Anjor in Baheri Wednesday evening who sent him to 14 days of judicial custody.
Speaking to ThePrint, Ahmed said, “I have been arrested under the love jihad law. I have no link with the woman, she got married a year back. I am innocent.”
In his complaint, Tikaram had alleged that Ahmed was acquainted with his daughter since they were students and had recently started pressurising her to convert. His daughter got married in June this year.
A senior police officer told ThePrint that the two had planned to elope in October 2019 but the plan was foiled. The woman was stopped at Rathlam in Madhya Pradesh by the state police in the same month.
Also read: UP doesn’t need a new anti-conversion law. But India needs a stronger Special Marriage Act
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three high courts have upheld interfaith marriages in the last one week as a fundamental right to choose. allahabad, karnataka, and Delhi.