Muslim youth arrested in Indore under MP's anti-conversion law for luring girl by changing his name

A Muslim youth has been arrested here at Vijay Nagar police station under relevant sections of 'Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance, 2020'- commonly called the 'love-jihad' law, which prohibits and provides for punishment for conversion by "misrepresentation, undue influence, coercion, marriage or any fraudulent means.

This is the first case registered under the anti-conversion law in Madhya Pradesh's Indore.

According to the police, the Muslim youth had changed his name to convince a minor Hindu girl to marry him.

"Yesterday evening, we received information regarding a couple in an objectionable state. When the police reached there, it was known that girl was a minor. When the parents of the girl were enquired, they said they had no knowledge about the whereabouts of their daughter. They said that the boy took the girl with him without her consent," Vijay Nagar police station in-charge, Tehzeeb Qazi told media on Thursday.

"We registered an FIR under IPC 363 (Punishment for kidnapping), 366 (Punishment for kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage), 354 (Punishment for assaults to any woman)," he added.

"When the girl was enquired, she said that the boy had told him to marry him. The girl's family wanted to marry her to a man more than her age, so the accused was luring her towards marriage. The boy also told her the wrong name. He told her that his name was Rahul and later it was known that his name is different. He was thereafter arrested," he added.

The police official said that the original name of the arrested boy is Farhan (20), a resident of the Khajrana area in Indore.

The arrested man is a Muslim and he changed his name to a Hindu name to get married to a Hindu girl and was arrested from Meghdoot Garden in Vijay Nagar police station area of Indore when he was sitting in the park with the 17-year-old minor Hindu girl, the police official said.

The police have registered a case against Farhan under Sections 3 and 5 of 'Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance, 2020', which came into effect in the state on January 9.

( With inputs from ANI )