POSTED ON AUGUST 10, 2022
New Delhi, August 09 (KMS): Six Dalit-Christian women were booked in the Maharajganj area of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh on charges of forced conversion following complaints by the Hindutva organization, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
The lawyers and family members of the women claim that a birthday party celebration is being termed as an attempt to carry out forced conversions by the Hindutva outfit for political gain.
The women – Indra Kala, Subhagi Devi, Sadhna, Savita, Anita and Sunita – were arrested from Kala’s house while they were celebrating her son’s birthday.
A complaint was registered against the women by Ashutosh Singh, block president of the VHP.
Speaking to the media, Singh said, “We were informed that forced conversions were taking place under the garb of a birthday party. We took the matter to the police and they arrested the women.”
“Only women were there. They were luring others with money and carrying out illicit activities,” Singh, the complainant, continued. “They had raised their hands in the air as Jesus would. They were trying to convert Harijan women. Another instance took place 12 kilometres away and we cracked down on them too. There was no such thing as a birthday party.”
The first information report (FIR) states that a case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Following the arrest, the women were presented before a special lower court and were denied bail, given the seriousness of charges. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for August 16.
The lawyers representing the women have termed the charges baseless and motivated and have sought urgent relief given the dependency of the families of the women on them.
Courtesy : Kmsnews
Note: This news piece was originally published in kmsnews.org and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights