Police in Etah district of western Uttar Pradesh on Monday declared a bounty of ₹25,000 each on five persons accused under the State’s new ordinance against unlawful conversions.
In Jalesar town of Etah, a Muslim youth and his family members were last week booked under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020 for allegedly coaxing a Hindu woman into elopement and coercing her to convert her religion for marriage.
Etah police said they had arrested six persons in the case so far. “A reward of ₹25,000 each has been declared against five named accused who are absconding,” Etah police said.
While the State police have not released any cumulative list of the total cases lodged and arrests made under the new ordinance, according to information gathered from various districts, the six arrests in Etah would take the total arrests made since November 27 when it was promulgated to 40.
So far, 13 persons have been arrested in Sitapur, 10 in Mau, four in Gautam Buddha Nagar, two in Moradabad (both granted bail), and one each in Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Bijnor, Kannauj and Hardoi, respectively. Two persons accused of trying to convert a Hindu woman to their religion in Muzaffarnagar were given relief by the Allahabad High Court on last Friday after it ordered a stay on their arrest.
