+

UP govt apprehends 507 accused in forced conversions, 291 cases registered

The UP government while being stringent against the forced conversions in the state, has arrested 507 accused after registering 291 cases in the state so far since November 20. The action comes ever since the Prohibition of Illegal Religious Conversion Act came into force two years ago, a state government official said. As per the […]

The UP government while being stringent against the forced conversions in the state, has arrested 507 accused after registering 291 cases in the state so far since November 20. The action comes ever since the Prohibition of Illegal Religious Conversion Act came into force two years ago, a state government official said.

As per the available information, none of the 507 accused has been convicted so far in any of the 291 first information reports (FIRs) registered under this Act. Trial in all these cases is pending in respective courts. 59 of the total 291 cases are concerned with the minors. As per available data, the victims in 150 of total 291 cases in their statements informed the court that they had been forced to convert. Most of the cases registered under this act are in Bareily district.

A racket converting disabled children was also exposed in Uttar Pradesh. Cases of forced conversion had been registered earlier too under other provisions of laws but strict action against illegal conversions has been intensified after the implementation of this Act which came into force on November 27, 2020. There is a provision of up to 10 years imprisonment for a person found guilty under the Illegal Conversion Act, depending on the seriousness of the offence. Further, the guilty may be fined from 15 thousand to 50 thousand.

The provision of imprisonment of 3 to 10 years and a fine of 50 thousand has been made in the Act for forced mass conversion.

Tags:

forced conversionsup govt