Police in Azamgarh district have arrested three persons on the charge of trying to convert some locals to Christianity.
With this, at least 12 FIRs have been registered under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, and 43 persons have been arrested since November 27.
The arrests in Azamgarh were made by Didarganj police. The three accused, identified as Bal Chand Jaiswal, Gopal Prajapati and Neeraj Kumar, were allegedly holding a prayer meeting (prathna sabha) in the house of one Tribhuvan Yadav, in a village when a local resident lodged a complaint against them accusing them of trying to convert people.
Station House Officer Didarganj Santosh Singh, when asked if the police had intervened, said the the complaint was filed by the person who was allegedly being converted.
Earlier, 13 persons were arrested in Sitapur, 10 in Mau, four in Gautam Buddha Nagar, six in Etah, three in Azamgarh, two in Moradabad (both are out on bail), one each in Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Bijnor, Kannauj and Hardoi.
Two persons accused of trying to convert a Hindu woman to their religion in Muzaffarnagar got relief from the Allahabad High Court which ordered a stay on their arrest last Friday.
The ordinance lays down strict action, including cancellation of registration of social organisations conducting mass conversions. Mass conversions would invite a jail term of not less than three years and up to 10 years and a fine of ₹50,000.
