1st conviction under UP’s anti-conversion law: Sambhal man gets five years in jail
This is the first conviction in the state under the anti-conversion law, said Additional Director General, Prosecution, Ashutosh Pandey. Afzal, who hails from Sambhal and was out on bail, was taken into custody on Friday after the court held him guilty.
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“Afzal had introduced himself to the girl as 'Arman Kohli'. His real identity came to light later,” said special counsel, Amroha, Basant Singh Saini. (Representational/File)A COURT in Amroha on Saturday awarded five years’ imprisonment to a 26-year-old carpenter, who was booked under the state’s anti-conversion law for allegedly abducting a 16-year-old girl belonging to another community in April last year. The girl was later traced on the basis of information revealed by the accused, Afzal, after his arrest.
This is the first conviction in the state under the anti-conversion law, said Additional Director General, Prosecution, Ashutosh Pandey. Afzal, who hails from Sambhal and was out on bail, was taken into custody on Friday after the court held him guilty.
“Afzal had introduced himself to the girl as ‘Arman Kohli’. His real identity came to light later,” said special counsel, Amroha, Basant Singh Saini.
“On Saturday, Additional District Judge Kapila Raghav sentenced Afzal to five years’ imprisonment,” Saini said. He added that a total of seven prosecution witnesses were examined in court.
According to the prosecution, the case dates back to April 2 last year, when the girl’s father approached the local police and said his daughter left home for work two days ago but did not return. He told the police that two local residents claimed to have seen his daughter with a man.
The father also told the police that he found that the teenager was in regular touch with Afzal, who used to visit his nursery to purchase plants. The police then filed a case against Afzal and also invoked the anti-conversion law as the girl’s father alleged that Afzal “abducted” his daughter to “change her religion.”
A day later, the police arrested Afzal from Delhi while he was on his way to a relative’s house. The police then traced the girl.
The UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, came into effect on November 28, 2020. The state government later brought in a Bill to replace the ordinance.
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