First case under conversion ordinance in U.P.

FIR lodged on the complaint by father that the accused wanted to ‘coerce, coax and allure’ his daughter into converting

The Uttar Pradesh police lodged the first case under the new ordinance against unlawful conversions, a day after it was promulgated.

An FIR was lodged by the police in Bareilly under Sections 3 and 5 of the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, which was promulgated on November 27 by Governor Anandiben Patel.

Bareilly police said the FIR was lodged at the Deorania police station against a person on charges of trying to coerce a 20-year-old girl to convert her to his religion and marry him. Sections 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code were also invoked.

The FIR was lodged on the complaint of Tikaram Rathore, a resident of Sharifnagar village, late on Friday.

Mr. Rathore alleged that the accused had developed a friendship with his daughter during their education and wanted to “coerce, coax and allure her into converting”.

“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...,” alleged Mr. Rathore.