State government has sounded a high alert over the reports of functions to be organised on conversion in the State besides have ordered a probe after lodging an FIR over alleged forceful conversion of 57 Muslim families to Hinduism in Agra on Sunday that sparked a political row.
Inspector General (law and Order), A Satish Ganesh told reporters here on Wednesday evening that government has taken the matter seriously over the reported conversion in Agra and a FIR has been registered.’’ Probe is underway in the Agra case,’’ he said. Ganesh said that DGP has sounded alert to all the district police chiefs for monitoring any such function of conversion in their area.’’ Such incidents will be prevented as any cost,’’he said. When asked about the proposed conversion programme in Aligarh on December 25, the IG said that the organisors are yet to seek permission.
’We directed the Aligarh authorities to keep a tab on the situation,’’ he added while hinting that government would not allow the programme to be held in Aligarh at any cost. Meanwhile, Hindu Yuva Vahini, an outfit floated by fire brand Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath, will reconvert people to Hinduism in a programme at Ghazipur in eastern UP on Decemebr 18. Yuva Vahini state president Sunil Singh on Wednesday said in Gorakhpur that the organisation has taken permission from the administration for the event and they are hopeful to reconvert 2,000 people in Ghazipur on December 18.
Earlier, UP chief secretary Alok Ranjan said here the FIR has been registered and investigation was underway. ``If the conversion was forceful, then certainly action would be taken against the people involved in it,’ he stated, revealing that a probe has been ordered. The state government, meanwhile, is likely to ban the proposed conversion of 5,000 more Muslims and Christians under the programme ‘Purkhon ki ghar vapsi’, to be jointly organised by Dharma Jagran Samanvay Vibhag, an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Bajrang Dal in Aligarh on December 25 during Christmas.
The event was slated to be held at Maheshwari College in Aligarh, he said. On the other hand, some Muslim organisations were holding demonstration in front of the Mantola police station in Agra in protest against the conversion and demanding arrest of the leaders of the RSS. The mob also tried to enter the police station and even clashed with the cops. The situation was tense but under control, police claimed in Agra. Some of the Muslim families involved in the conversion had reportedly made statement before the media that they were lured with ration cards and free houses which created the controversy.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said in New Delhi that the UP government was closely monitoring the incident and would not spare anyone found guilty.’UP government was investigating whether the conversion was forcefully done or it was on their wishes,’ he said. State minister and SP general secretary, Mohammad Azam Khan, condemned the incident and squarely blamed the BJP government at the Centre for instigating these conversions.
‘During the elections, the BJP leaders had propagated to send back the Muslims to Pakistan if they don’t support the party and now they are openly forcing the Muslims to embrace Hinduism after coming to power,’ he said. Muslim Cleric Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangimahali, who on Tuesday made a cautious statement, on Wednesday demanded a high-level probe into the matter.
“The statement of the people who have been converted had said that they were promised to be given ration cards and houses which is objectionable,” he added. He said if conversion has been done forcefully or through any bribe, then the Centre as well as the Uttar Pradesh government should intervene and act. “There is a report of RSS’s plan of large scale conversion on December 25 next but government should ensure
that no forceful conversions take place anywhere in the country.” the cleric said. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Mahmood Madani too criticised the conversion and demanded action against the organisation as well as the individuals involved in the illegal incident. He demanded that the UP government should immediately ban the proposed conversion function at Aligarh on December 25. State BJP president lakshmikant Bajpai also played down the
issue saying if conversion has been through one’s own willingness then there should be no problem.” But forceful conversion is wrong,”he quoted. But UP Congress Committee has strongly criticised the act of the RSS over the reported conversion. “The day BJP came to power at the Centre, RSS has gone berserk and trying all its effort to communalise the atmosphere and even threatening the Muslims,” alleged UP Congress spokesperson, Amarnath Agarwal.
He said RSS was also trying to vitiate the country’s atmosphere by its communal agenda and now they are not even following the law in its illegal act. “Government should act sternly on the matter and the people who are converted should be questioned on the background of their conversion,” he added. BSP president Ms Mayawati in a statement from New Delhi has also questioned the act of conversion and termed it as a conspiracy to communalise the atmosphere.
It may be mentioned that police lodged a case against a Hindu outfit, an RSS offshoot,`Dharma Jagran Manch’ and its UP convener Kishore, over the alleged forced reconversion. Police registered cases under Section 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups) and Section 415 (using fraudulent means) of the IPC.