Palwal court 57-yearold cleric’s bail plea in forced conversion case

According to police and village representatives, the case dates back to September 25, when the girl was allegedly taken inside the mosque by a minor boy she knew. Her family told police that the boy and the mosque cleric attempted to coerce her into converting, after which they intervened and rescued her.

A Palwal court on Monday rejected the bail application of a 57-year-old cleric based in Uttar Pradesh for his alleged involvement in the forced conversion of a 15-year-old girl, police officers said on Tuesday.

According to investigators, the cleric Shamsuddin Khan, originally from Tirthali village in Bulandshahr, had promised ₹5 lakh to the minor boy if helped in the conversion of the girl.

According to investigators, the cleric Shamsuddin Khan, originally from Tirthali village in Bulandshahr, had promised ₹5 lakh to the minor boy if helped in the conversion of the girl.

According to police and village representatives, the case dates back to September 25, when the girl was allegedly taken inside the mosque by a minor boy she knew. Her family told police that the boy and the mosque cleric attempted to coerce her into converting, after which they intervened and rescued her.

Police officers said he was one of the main conspirators along with Mohammad Salimuddin Khan, 35, the cleric of the mosque at Tikri Brahman in Sadar Palwal.

Nishant Sharma, the counsel of the victim who opposed Shamsuddin’s bail before the court of ADJ-I Sunil Kumar, said that he was the one who had met the minor boy inside the mosque two weeks before the incident and instigated him to rope in the minor girl for her conversion.

“Shamsuddin promised ₹5 lakh to the boy once the girl’s conversion was completed,” he said, adding that if released on bail, he could obstruct the arrest of other accused persons whose involvements have surfaced in the case.

“Besides, it was also submitted that he may threaten the victim and her family,” he said.

A group of lawyers appeared for Shamsuddin who argued that he was falsely implicated in the case and was being defamed. They also submitted that police have not been able to make any recoveries from him related to the case.

The lawyers also submitted that Shamsuddin was also not a named-accused in the case and police arrested him later.

A senior police officer said that after his arrest on September 29, Shamsuddin, during investigation revealed that he promised ₹5 lakh reward to those who would help in the conversion of an upper caste girl and ₹ 2-3 lakh reward was for those who will do the same with the backward caste girls.

“Shamsuddin was collecting the money through various donation schemes. There are at least seven more suspects involved in the case who are on the run and yet to be arrested,” said the senior officer.

A copy of Shamsuddin’s statement to police was also seen by HT.

Police officers said that the juvenile justice board had rejected the bail application of the minor boy on November 14 while the mosque cleric, and the three other accused arrested later in the case, have yet not moved any bail application before the court.