
Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district police arrested five Muslim men on charges of alleged unlawful religious conversion after performing religious rituals at the home of a Dalit family. The arrests were made following a complaint by the Hindutva organisation Bajrang Dal.
The incident took place on Friday, January 10 in Maudaha city when a couple Urmila Verma and her husband belonging to the Dalit community reportedly performed a “Urs” ritual (ceremony of a Sufi Muslim saint) inside their house.
The rituals were conducted on the advice of Nooruddin and his associates believing that praying to the ‘saint’ would cure Urmila’s long spell of illness.
During the religious ceremony, Bajrang Dal members stormed into the house and disrupted the event. They immediately alerted the police, leading to the arrest of five men identified as Nooruddin,55, his nephew Meraj Hasan, 32, Khalif,42, Irfan, 46, and Mohammad Hanif, 52.
Four of them were arrested on January 10 and one, a day later.
According to the additional superintendent of police (ASP), Manoj Kumar Gupta, all men were booked for criminal intimidation under sections 3 and 5 (1) of The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
The former Bajrang Dal district convenor Ashish Singh alleged that the men were attempting to convert the family to Islam by promising to cure Urmila’s illness and offering money.
While talking to the local TV channel, Singh claimed that the chadar posh ritual (offering of a sacred sheet of cloth) was going on when the Bajrang Dal raided the house at 2.30 am. “Maulanas (priests) were delivering speeches related to Islam. They were trying to covert the Dalit family,” he added.
Dalit family denies religious conversion
While speaking to local media, Urmila and Ajit Verma denied that they had converted to Islam and stated they still practice the Hindu faith and the practice was performed for Urmila’s illnesses and satisfaction.
In the FIR copy, Urmila said, “I had come in touch with Nooruddin, a native of Banda while trying to find a treatment for a prolonged illness that I had been suffering from for over two years. We also had trouble in our house. I would go from one place to another to get myself examined and during this time I met Nooruddin,” The Wire reported.
Urmila narrated that Nooruddin, his nephew Meraj and another man Khaliq constructed a mazaar in one corner of her house. “He told me you worship this and conduct an urs, all your problems will be over,” her FIR stated.
Sometimes, Nooruddin and his companions would coax the family to embrace Islam, according to Urmila. She also said he had advised her to hold a urs every year.
On the day Nooruddin and his associates organised a programme at Urmila’s house to perform faateha (a Muslim prayer) as per the FIR reported by The Wire.
“’You people belong to a lower caste. You will fall into a higher caste in the Muslim religion. You will continue to get money from the Muslim religion and you will not have any problems’ they told me,” said Urmila.