AGRA: An 18-year-old boy was arrested for "unlawful conversion" of a girl, a minor, he had married a day ago in Aligarh.
The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint by a former BJP mayor, who alleged the "Hindu girl" had been forcefully converted to Islam. The girl, who has been handed over to the Child Welfare Committee, said she had converted because she wanted to do so.
The boy used to work at a clothing store in Noida. She lived in the same area. "That was where I met her and we got into a relationship," he told the media. When the girl’s family found out, the girl said, they objected. "I wanted to study but my father wanted to marry me off because I was in a relationship with a Muslim man," she said, adding that she is not yet 18. They decided to get away and, two months ago, eloped to Aligarh, where the boy was from.
"We got married in a nikah ceremony on Friday,” the boy said. Before that, the girl had been converted to Islam. "I changed my name before the wedding and adopted Islam as my religion. No one forced me to do so. I have been here of my own free will," she said.
Former BJP mayor Shakuntala Bharti had a different narrative to share. She said she had received information that a "minor girl from the Hindu community" had been brought to Aligarh and was marrying a Muslim boy after religious conversion. She said she informed the police, who then "rescued" the girl.
SP (city) Kuldeep Singh Gunawat said an FIR has been lodged. The boy, his mother and two others have been charged with unlawful conversion, attempt to murder and under sections of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. "The girl’s family has been contacted but they are yet to reach Aligarh," Gunawat added.
