833 arrested for religious conversion in UP in past two years

Lucknow, May 11 A total of 833 persons have been arrested in 427 cases registered in the past two years under the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2020 that is now back in focus with the release of the movie 'The Kerala Story' that highlights the same issue.

The Act came into effect in Uttar Pradesh on November 27, 2020.

According to a government spokesperson, at least 427 cases related to conversion were reported in the state between January 1, 2021, and April 30, 2023, in which 833 arrests were also made.

"So far, 65 cases of conversion of minors have been registered, of which 12 were registered in Meerut zone, 10 in Gorakhpur, nine in Bareilly, five in Agra, four cases each in Lucknow and Prayagraj, and two cases in Varanasi. In 185 of these cases, the victims confessed before the court that they were forcibly converted," the spokesman said.

According to records, Bareilly police zone reported maximum 86 cases followed by Gorakhpur (59), Lucknow (53), Meerut (47), Prayagraj (46), and Varanasi (39).

In police commissionerates, maximum 20 cases were registered in Lucknow, followed by 19 in Kanpur, 13 in Prayagraj, and 10 in Noida.

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