December 15, 2020 4:33:19 am
The woman who was taken to a shelter in Moradabad by Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday after arresting the man with whom she was under the anti-conversion law passed last month, returned home on Monday. Pinki was allowed to leave after she told a magistrate that she and Rashid Ali, 22, were married in July, and that she was 22 years old and wanted to go with her family.
Speaking to reporters after Rashid’s arrest on Saturday morning, Pinki, who is three months pregnant, had said that the two were going to register their marriage when the police caught them. Rashid’s older brother, Saleem, 25, who was with them, was also arrested. Police said Pinki had no proof of the marriage and that they were acting on a complaint from Pinki’s mother that Rashid had forcibly converted and married her daughter.
Moradabad Additional Police Superintendent Vidya Sagar Mishra said: “The girl in her statement to the magistrate said that she was born in 1998 and that she and Rashid held a nikah on July 24 in Dehradun.” Pinki said she had been converted and wanted to return to Rashid’s family, Mishra added.
Dr Nirmala Pathak, Acting Chief Medical Superintendent at the Moradabad Mahila District Hospital, where Pinki was examined, said the fetus was clearly visible on her ultrasound report and appeared to be fine. “We have decided to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound to obtain a more precise condition of the fetus,” said Pathak. Earlier there had been reports that Pinki had suffered a miscarriage, which was denied by officials.
While Rashid and Saleem remain in jail under the Uttar Pradesh Illegal Conversion of Religion Prohibition Ordinance, 2020, Moradabad police said they would seek legal opinion on Pinki’s statement, including that she was older and that the wedding It took place before a new law was passed to decide what to do. One of the things they would investigate is whether the conversion followed “legal procedures,” police said.
Shortly after she was taken to the government-run house in Moradabad, Pinki had complained of pain in her abdomen and was admitted to the Mahila District Hospital. She was discharged on Sunday morning, but in the afternoon she complained of pain again and was taken back to the hospital. On Monday, Pinki was brought before the magistrate in the morning, but the hearing had to be delayed because she complained of discomfort. She was reviewed and brought to court in the afternoon to record her statement.
“All details, including Pinki’s claim of nikah and conversion, would be verified. The documents related to the claim would be checked. The police will also receive a statement from the girl’s family and others, ”said Moradabad Senior Police Superintendent Prabhakar Chaudhary.
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