NEW DELHI, Nov 29: Within hours of the promulgation of the “Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020,” popularly known as step against alleged “love jihad,” the first case under the new measure was registered against a person claimed to “wanted to coerce and allure a young Hindu girl into converting.”
The FIR was lodged by police in Bareilly the same night the UP governor Anandiben Patel gave her assent to the unlawful conversion ordinance and promulgated it on Friday. The complainant was one Tikaram of Sharifnagar village who alleged that a person residing in an area under Deorania police station, had developed friendship with his daughter during their education and wanted to “coerce, coax and allure her into converting.”
The Bareilly police while registering the FIR under sections three and five of the ordinance, also invoked Sections 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
“Despite repeated disapprovals by me and my family, he (the boy) is not listening, and is applying pressure on me and my family through abuses and death threats to fulfill his desire,” Tikaram claimed.
SP (Rural) Bareilly Sansar Singh said a case under kidnapping the girl was lodged against the boy earlier. “He was pressuring her to convert from her religion and marry,” Singh said. “The accused is absconding and the police are looking to arrest him,” he said.
The ordinance makes religious conversion a cognizable and non-bailable offence inviting penalties up to 10 years in prison if found to be effected for marriage or through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or other allegedly fraudulent means.
Violation of the provisions of the law would invite a jail term of not less than one year extendable to five years with a fine of ₹15,000. However, if a minor, a woman or person belonging to the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes communities was converted through such unlawful means, the jail term would be a minimum of three years extendable up to 10 years with a fine of ₹25,000.
(Manas Dasgupta)