INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
About 35 arrests, dozen FIRs as UP 'love jihad' law completes one month By Abhinav PandeyLucknow: Going full steam, the Uttar Pradesh police
have made more than one arrest a day since the controversial anti-conversion ordinance came into effect a month ago, having apprehended
notified on November 27.Eight arrests were made from Etah, seven from Sitapur, four from Greater Noida, three each from Shahjahanpur and
Azamgarh, two each from Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor and Kannauj and one each from Bareilly and Hardoi, officials said here.The first
case was registered in Bareilly just a day after the legislation came into force.The police cracked the whip following a complaint of
Tikaram Rathore, the father of a 20-year-girl and resident of Sharif Nagar village in Bareilly
lodged at Deorania police station in Bareilly district and the accused was arrested on December 3.Acting swiftly after being tipped off
about interfaith marriages, the Lucknow Police stopped a ceremony in the state capital, asking the couple to meet the legal requirements
first.In Muzaffarnagar district, one Nadeem and an accomplice were arrested on December 6 for allegedly trying to force a married Hindu
woman to convert.Nadeem, however, got reprieve when the Allahabad High Court directed the police not to take any coercive action against
court.Rashid and Salim were arrested on December 4 after they visited the registrar's office in Moradabad to record Rashid's marriage to a
Hindu woman whose family had filed the complaint.Shabab Khan aka Rahul (38), who is married, was picked up in Mau district on December 3 and
13 of his accomplices booked for allegedly abducting a 27-year-old woman on the eve of her wedding on November 30 with an intent to change
and two locals was accused of kidnapping a 19-year-old girl and converting her
All, barring Zubrail, were arrested on December 5.In Bijnor, 22-year-old labourer Afzal was arrested on December 13 for allegedly kidnapping
a girl from her home.A 19-year-old woman lodged an FIR with Shahabad police station in Hardoi district on December 11 alleging that she was
raped on the pretext of marriage and also pressured to convert by one Mohammed Azad
Religion Law, 2020 and for human trafficking
He was arrested on December 16.Rashid Ali (22) and Saleem Ali (25) were arrested under the new law in Moradabad district on similar
charges.A man was sent to jail in Bijnor on December 16 for 'love jihad', a term coined by BJP leaders and right-wing activists to describe
the crime against which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also spoken out.Addressing bypoll rallies in Jaunpur and Deoria, Adityanath had
law, social activist Shantanu Sharma said, "We have no problems with the new law but its enforcement should not cause harassment to people
It should be ensured that it is not misused.""Making a new law doesn't mean that forcible conversions will be checked easily
Ultimately, it will be the police which will enforce it
It's too early to predict whether it will succeed in its purpose or not, but it should be used carefully," he said.Former UP Director
General of Police Yashpal Singh said that when a girl flees, there is pressure for her recovery
"It (law) is good as per the social structure and with this there will be not exploitation
impinges upon the fundamental right to choice and the right to change of faith
It militates against the fundamental rights to individual autonomy, privacy, human dignity and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21
(right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution."He pointed out that a PIL has already been filed in the Allahabad High Court
challenging the law and now it is for the court to decide.The high court has asked the state government to respond to a petition which
court refused to grant any interim relief and directed the state government to file a counter affidavit by January 4.The ordinance aimed at
curbing forcible or fraudulent religious conversions, including those for the sake of marriage, got the assent of UP Governor Anandiben
Under the law, which deals with different categories of offences, a marriage will be declared "null and void" if the conversion of a woman
