A day after the incident, the man, Rashid and his brother were searched on Sunday under the new law and sent to jail. Police have rejected the request to share a copy of the FIR, saying it will be “available soon.”
The woman, throughout this time, continued to affirm that she was an adult and was married. In one of the videos recorded at the Kanth police station, she can be seen showing a copy of the ‘nikahnama’, suggesting that she was already converted and married according to Muslim customs. The woman was also seen displaying a copy of a newspaper advertisement as evidence that she had also changed her name in accordance with official rules.
the Uttar Pradesh The Illegal Conversion of Religion Prohibition Ordinance of 2020 voids a marriage if it is made for religious conversion. But it is not likely to apply retrospectively, in cases where religious conversion took place before the law went into effect.
Senior police officers declined to comment. They said the FIR against the man and his brother was registered based on a complaint filed by the woman’s mother on Sunday. “We have registered the case from a complaint filed by the mother of the woman, and also after an initial investigation. It’s not definitive. If we get something new, we will act accordingly, ”said Vidya Sagar Mishra, additional SP (rural).
“The FIR is registered under sections 3 and 5 of the anti-conversion law. The woman’s statement will soon be registered with the court. They keep her in Nari Niketan so that no one influences her, ”said the police officer.
Rajesh Kumar, leader of Bajrang Dal, said: “We came to know that a man from another community has come with a woman for conversion and marriage registration. We followed them and reported to the police to take action under the new law. ”
The woman, unfazed by the Bajrang Dal men, had told the media on Saturday night that she married Rashid on July 24 in Dehradun.
But she was constantly being yelled at by the men in saffron. “Show us the permission you have from the district judge to convert your religion,” one of the men told the woman. While another member of the group said: “‘Iska to keval nikah hua hai (has only married according to Muslim customs)”.
In another video, a Bajrang Dal member was seen snatching a set of files that the woman was handing over to a female police officer. But the bailiff rushed to remove it and hit the man. Kanth Police Station SHO Officer Ajay Gautam told TOI: “We have acted on the complaint made by the girl’s mother.”
.
