LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh police has registered at least 433 cases under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act since its inception in 2020.
In at least 184 cases, victims have confessed of being forcefully converted to a different faith while in 66 cases, the victims were found to be minors. Maximum 65 cases were registered in Bareilly police zone.
Special director general, law and order, Prashant Kumar said, “Senior officers are monitoring investigations in all the cases pertaining to illegal conversions. Police officials have been directed to initiate action based on evidence. Those who offer allurement, inducement and adopt illegal means for conversion will not be spared and action will be taken against them.”
“We have filed charge sheet in 339 cases till now, while 47 cases are still under investigation. Final report was filed in four cases,” he said.
“At least 1,229 people were named in 433 cases. During probe, the role of 124 accused could not be established and they were let off. At least 70 people named in the cases have surrendered in the court,” the SDG said.
Fatehpur district recorded maximum 40 cases of conversion in the state.
In one case, the police had attached the property of Zubrail, a resident of Sitapur, who was booked in December last year. The accused, who was declared an offender, is on the run.
A police officer said that a Muslim woman from Lucknow had accused her husband Ashraf, who headed a shrine in Karnataka, of running a love jihad campaign. The case was transferred to Bengaluru.
Recently, a couple visiting Sitapur along with tourists from Brazil was booked under the anti-conversion law for allegedly forcing people to convert to Christianity.
This story was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Read the full story here