Gorakhpur woman says was not kidnapped, forced to convert

Her father lodged a missing report on January 5 and fresh charges under UP’s new anti-conversion ordinance were added after the woman’s call records showed she was in touch with the Karnataka man for over a year

Published on: Jan 19, 2021, 11:31:29 IST

By HT Correspondent | Edited by Sameer

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A 19-year-old woman has told police in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur that she had gone to Karnataka on her own for a job days after her father lodged a First Information Report against a 22-year-old Muslim man for allegedly kidnapping his daughter and forcing her to change her religion, a police officer said.

The two were brought to Gorakhpur on Monday from Karnataka. “The woman told us that she went to Karnataka to meet the man on her own looking for a job. She denied allegations of kidnapping or forceful conversion by the man,” said additional police superintendent (Gorakhpur) Manoj Kumar Awasthi. He added she was being presented before a magistrate to record her statement on Tuesday even as her medical examination report was awaited.

Deputy inspector general (Gorakhpur) Jogendra Kumar said the father lodged a missing report on January 5 and fresh charges under Uttar Pradesh’s new anti-conversion ordinance were added after the woman’s call records showed she was in touch with the Karnataka man for over a year. “The girl’s father alleged... [the man] concealed his religious identity to kidnap his daughter.”

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In his complaint, the father said his daughter was in touch with the man on Facebook since November 2019. An Uttar Pradesh police team arrested the man from Bijapur in Karnataka last week.

Uttar Pradesh has criminalised religious conversion, including through interfaith marriages, amid criticism that the ordinance enacted for it in November was being used to target inter-faith couples. The ordinance was introduced after the Hindu right campaigned against interfaith marriages.

Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh have also enacted anti-conversion laws and other Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states such as Haryana, Karnataka, and Assam are planning similar legislation.

Critics allege the laws are being used against the Muslim minority and infantilise women.

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