UP Cops: Man held under anti-conversion law, tried to change woman’s religion
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</span><span class="custom-caption"> <span class="ie-custom-caption">As per the FIR, the accused, Mohammad Saeed, concealed his identity and introduced himself to the woman, a mother of two, as Sunil Kumar. (Representational)</span></span>A 32-year-old man was arrested on Friday for allegedly coercing a 42-year-old married woman into changing her religion for marriage in Shahjahanpur district. This is the district’s first case registered under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020.
As per the FIR, the accused, Mohammad Saeed, concealed his identity and introduced himself to the woman, a mother of two, as Sunil Kumar.
He is alleged to have threatened her to convert and sexually assaulted her.
The FIR has been registered against Saeed and his family members under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 384 (extortion), 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation), and sections of the anti-conversion law. Police said they were probing the role of his family members.
Earlier, the woman and her mother accompanied by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other right-wing organisations reached the police station concerned and got an FIR registered.
“The woman has alleged that the accused came to her contact around four-five years ago. As per the allegations, he introduced himself as Hindu and later established physical relations with her. He used to regularly talk to her over phone. It has also been alleged that her started pressuring her for marriage,” said Shahjahanpur SP (City) Sanjay Kumar. Her husband stays in Mathura.
Talking to the media, the woman alleged that the man, who identified himself as Sunil, had come to her house to rent a room and took her phone number.]
“He started talking to me over phone and with increasing closeness, he started threatening me. He made videos of me and started asking for money. He asked me to transfer my land and house in his name. He physically and mentally abused me. He also threatened me with acid attack,” she alleged.
“He was forcing me to get married after conversion and wanted me to sign a nikahanama. His mother also came to my house and said the same. On December 10, seven-eight of his family members came and asked me to sign the nikahanama. When I started shouting, they started beating me. I informed my family and went to the police,” she claimed.
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