Teen arrested under UP’s anti-conversion law in Dadri for talking to minor girl

Greater Noida: A 19-year-old man was arrested by the Dadri police on Tuesday under the new anti-conversion law of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly hiding his identity

Greater Noida: A 19-year-old man was arrested by the Dadri police on Tuesday under the new anti-conversion law of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly hiding his identity while talking to a minor girl.

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The incident came to light on Monday when the girl’s family approached the Dadri police, alleging that the man had been talking to their daughter under a false name on social media.

“The two were interacting on social media and he was using a different account with a false name to talk to her. The girl realised the deception when the time came for them to meet,” said a senior police officer, requesting not to be named.

Police said that the two were allegedly known to each other and had studied together in school till class 5. However, the suspect allegedly did not reveal his identity while talking to her and kept pretending to be someone else from a different religion.

“A case was registered at the Dadri police station under the new anti-conversion law after the girl’s family approached us and the suspect was apprehended immediately,” said additional deputy commissioner of police, Zone 3, Vishal Pandey.

Police said that the girl’s family was worried that he might elope with their daughter, however, officers did not reveal too many details of the case to protect the girl’s privacy. The suspect was produced before a magistrate and later sent to jail.

This is the second case in the district of the new state law, the Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020, aimed at checking unlawful religious conversions. The first in the Gautam Buddha Nagar district was reported from the jurisdiction of the Surajpur police on December 19, in which three women, including a South Korean national, were arrested for allegedly enticing locals to convert.

The law came into force in the state from November 28 this year and makes conversion a non-bailable offence with up to 10 years of jail time if undertaken unlawfully.