5 booked for torching house of family that converted to Hinduism in UP’s Raebareli

Police said the family managed to escape even as the house was gutted and that security forces have been deployed in the area

Five people have been booked in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli district for allegedly torching the house of a Muslim family that converted to Hinduism in September.

Representational Image.

Police superintendent Shlok Kumar said the preliminary probe suggests that Dev Prakash, the convert, and Mohammad Tahir, the main accused, also had a dispute over a piece of land. “We are probing the case from all angles. Tahir and his brother have been detained and are being questioned,” he said. Kumar added a first information report has been filed and the accused have been booked for mischief by fire or explosive substance and rioting.

Police said the family managed to escape even as the house was gutted and that security forces have been deployed in the area.

Mohammed Anwar converted to Hinduism last year along with his three children and renamed himself, Dev Prakash.

Police said Prakash is a single-parent as his first wife died and his three subsequent marriages did not work.

In his police complaint, Prakash alleged that former village head Tahir and his associates were upset over his conversion.

He added he saw Tahir and his brother, Rehan, setting the house on fire.