Lucknow: Monday marked one month since the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh passed a new anti-conversion law to check what it calls “love jihad”. Since the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, came into effect on November 28, records show that the UP Police has registered 14 cases and made 51 arrests, of whom 49 are in jail.

Of these 14 cases, 13 involve Hindu women allegedly pressured to convert to Islam. In only two cases is the complainant the woman concerned herself — in the remaining 12, the complainants are her relatives. In two of them, Hindu right-wing activists intervened, holding protests at the police station. In all cases but one, the woman involved is an adult. In eight cases, the couple are said to have been either friends or in a ‘relationship’; while one couple claim to be married. One case involves alleged illegal conversion to Christianity, registered against three people in Azamgarh.

In two cases, the women, both married to other people, have refused to have their statements recorded, citing “social pressure”. In two others, women have levelled rape charges. Three of the women allegedly pressured for conversion are Dalits. While Bijnor district has seen three cases and Shahjahanpur two, others have been reported from Bareilly, Muzaffarnagar, Mau, Sitapur, Hardoi, Etah, Kannauj, Azamgarh and Moradabad districts. In one case, the police have been unable to find the woman involved.

Deorania Police Station, Bareilly

The case was lodged against Owais Ahmed, 24, the same day as the ordinance came into effect. Ahmed, who is under arrest, was accused of pressuring a married Hindu woman to convert, and threatening her parents. Preliminary investigation has indicated that the two were in a relationship, and had eloped last year, before they were found and brought back. While Ahmed had been arrested then too, the woman had denied in court the charges of kidnapping lodged against him by her father. Station House Officer (SHO), Deorania, Daya Shankar said the woman, who is at her in-laws’ place, had refused to get her statement recorded before a magistrate because of “social pressure”.

Mansoorpur Police Station in Muzaffarnagar

Nadeem, 34, was booked along with a friend, Suleman, on November 29 for allegedly harassing and pressuring the wife of a private contractor to convert and marry him. Both Nadeem and Suleman work as labourers at a factory in Haridwar, where the contractor was based earlier. The contractor, who filed the case, said Nadeem frequented their house for work and gradually developed friendship with his wife, forcing him to shift with his wife and family to Muzaffarnagar. On December 18, the Allahabad High Court stayed criminal proceedings against Nadeem. Suleman was never arrested due to lack of evidence, SHO, Mansoorpur, Kushal Pal Singh said. The woman has refused to record her statement before a magistrate.

Chiraiyakot Police Station, Mau

Shabad Khan, 32, and 10 others, including his friends and relatives, were arrested for allegedly kidnapping a woman, 24, on the eve of her marriage on November 30, with the intent of converting her. The woman’s father, who filed the complaint, told the police locals had told him about what Shabad, who is married, was planning. The police said efforts were being made to trace three others. Additional Superintendent of Police, Mau, T N Tripathi said they had found the woman but had not been able to record her statement as she had tested positive for Covid-19.

Tambor Police Station, Sitapur

Jibrail, 22, a taxi driver, and six of his family members were booked initially for allegedly kidnapping a 19-year-old woman, on the complaint of her father. A week later, on December 3, her uncle filed a fresh complaint saying he had come to know Jibrail had converted the woman, prompting the police to invoke the anti-conversion law. Jibrail has not been arrested so far, nor the woman found, though 13 others, including Jibrail’s friends and relatives, have been arrested, said Station Officer, Tambor, Amit Singh Bhadouria.

Sahabad Police Station, Hardoi

A case was lodged against Mohammad Azad, 24, on December 11 by an 18-year-old woman, alleging rape and attemps to forcibly convert her, leading to his arrest. The teenager said she had been in a relationship with Azad for two years and that he had raped her repeatedly on the promise of marriage, later putting pressure on her to convert first. She also told the police she suspected Azad was planning to take her to Delhi and put her in the trafficking trade. While the woman earlier claimed she was a minor, the police said a medical examination and government documents proved otherwise. In a statement recorded before a magistrate, she has supported the charges, said SHO, Sahabad, Shiv Shankar Singh.

Kotwali Police Station, Bijnor

Mohammad Afzal, 22, a labourer, was arrested on December 10 for allegedly kidnapping a 19-year-old and trying to convert her, on the complaint of her father, also a labourer. The woman’s family moved recently from Bijnor to Chandigarh, but she had come to Bijnor for a family function, when Afzal reportedly abducted her.

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