The arrested people have been identified as Father Dominic Pinto, Dharmaraj, Surendra, Ghanshyam Gautam, Pawan, Suraj, and Sarju Prasad, with all, except Father Pinto, coming from Ayodhya. The authorities have launched an investigation and registered a case against them under relevant sections of the anti-conversion law, the Uttar Pradesh Unlawful Religious Conversion Prohibition Act, 2021, and the Indian Penal Code.

According to the report, the police were told about the alleged event by Hindutva outfits of the area. Vishwa Hindu Parishad district chief Brijesh Kumar Vaish and Bajrang Dal district convener Akhand Pratap Singh had reportedly made the first complaint. A complaint has alleged that conversion efforts were reportedly organised by one Father Pinto at the Navinta Prayer Centre and Church near St Matthew’s College in Barabanki.

However, claims of conversion are actually criticised by activists and scholars as something that has been used by right-wing groups as dog whistles very often. In an interview with Sabrang India earlier in 2023, Mr. AC Michael, the National Coordinator for the United Christian Forum, an advocacy group based in New Delhi, addressed the claims of mass conversions Christians are accused of. He stated that the government or courts of law must substantiate claims of alleged forceful conversions with concrete proof, data, and numbers. Mr. Michael mentioned how innocent victims are being unjustly arrested on charges of forceful conversion, despite a lack of supporting data. He also further stated there is a decline in the Christian population, and also pointed out that despite allegations of conversions, official government population censuses have consistently reported a stable Christian population.

The Christian community has consistently called on the government to address the acts of vigilante violence against Churches and Christians by Hindutva outfits across the country. After the recent acts of violence by Hindutva men against Christian communities in Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua on January 21, which included the reportedly forced hoisting of saffron flags on the rooftops of four churches, leaders within the community came together to urge for heightened security measures.

Furthermore, according to a statement from the United Christian Forum on December 14, an average of two Christians face attacks every day in India. The report highlighted a disturbing trend, citing a total of 687 reported incidents of violence against Christians in 2023. Notably, the majority of these incidents, totalling to more than 531, occurred in North Indian states, with Uttar Pradesh seeing about 287 attacks, Chhattisgarh 148 and Jharkhand and Haryana at 49 and 47, being among the most affected regions.

Related:

Indian Christian community faces persistent attacks in first 10 days in 2024

Irony of 2023: High persecution of Christians, PM hailed by some religious leaders

Amidst festive cheer, India’s Christian community confronts prejudice and intolerance

Hindutva’s “rice bag converts” controversy

The post UP Police arrest 10 after Hindutva outfits reportedly complained about conversion racket appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Three persons – a father and his sons – were arrested on Wednesday on charges of assaulting two Muslim minor boys in Khasparia village of Barabanki district, Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, the incident happened on January 29. The victims – Shadab and Shakeel – had gone to the village to collect fodder for their goats.

As they were returning home, they were suddenly intercepted by Triloki and his sons – Sonu and Suraj – who tied them to a tree and started beating them with sticks.

A video has gone viral on social media platforms regarding the incident. In the video, abuses are being hurled at the minor boys who look visibly scared. 

Location: Noorpur, Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh

Two Muslim kids had an argument w/locals over collecting leaves to feed their goat.

They were then tied to a tree and mercilessly beaten after a local named Triloki falsely accused them of molesting a girl. pic.twitter.com/IGwQSmvtZN

— HindutvaWatch (@HindutvaWatchIn) February 1, 2023

The boys were soon rescued by nearby villagers. They informed their father Majbulla who immediately rushed to the spot and took his boys home.

A police complaint was lodged against Triloki, Sonu and Suraj under sections 342 (Whoever wrongfully confines any person shall be punished with imprisonment), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

However, police said that Triloki has alleged he beat Shadab and Shakeel because they were caught harassing his minor daughter.

While Triloki is in his 50s, Sonu and Suraj are majors. Investigations are still on, police said.

Courtesy: The Daily Sisat

The post Video: Two Muslim minors tied to tree, beaten in UP’s Barabanki dist, 3 held appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Barabanki’s Ramsnehi Ghat mosque was demolished, despite a Allahabad High Court order that it be protected till May 31. While the district administration continues to maintain that the mosque was an “illegal construction”, it is on the records of the Sunni Central Waqf Board documents as ‘Tehsil Masjid’ for the last six decades, reports the BBC. Those in charge of the mosque told the media that it is even older, as the record books came into existence much later than the structure.

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has called the administration’s action illegal, and is likely to challenge it in the High Court, stated the news report. Known locally as the Ghraib Nawaz Mosque, and on the record books as the Tehsil Mosque, it stood in the Tehsil complex in Ramsnehi Ghat before it was demolished on Monday. The Ramasnehi Ghat tehsil complex, said the ground report, is right in front of the SDM residence, and the mosque is “registered as the property of the Waqf Board”. A fact that according to its management has never been disputed. However, according to media reports the Barabanki District Magistrate Adarsh Singh said “a notice” was issued to those concerned on March15,  and the administration took the mosque “under its control.”

The official statement was read out in a video posted on twitter handle of DM Barabanki. A quick translation of the ‘officialese’ states that, “In the case of the illegal structure in the Tehsil Residential Complex, the concerned parties were given an opportunity to respond to the notice on March 15,” adding that instead of responding “the people left the premises and fled.”

दिनांक 17.05.2021 को रामसनेहीघाट तहसील परिसर के प्रकरण के संबंध में @BarabankiD व #barabankipolice अधीक्षक @IPSYAMUNA1 की बाइट~#UPPolice @Uppolice @adgzonelucknow @igrangeayodhya @bstvlive @News18UP pic.twitter.com/3pN6RvkjZu

— Barabanki Police (@Barabankipolice) May 18, 2021

According to a news flash on social media both the Samajwadi Party, and the Congress have condemned the mosque’s demolition and have demanded a judicial probe. However, according to the DM, “A petition filed in this regard by the Lucknow bench of the Hon’ble High Court Allahabad on April 2, proves that the construction is illegal. On this basis, the suit was presented in the court of SDM Ramsanehi Ghat and then complied with its order on May 17.” According to the BBC, the mosque management committee had filed a petition in the High Court against the notice given in March, however, it is still pending. As reported earlier, the Allahabad High Court, on April 24 2021,  had ordered that no action be taken till May 31 on “any religious construction on government properties”. 

Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board Chairman Zafar Ahmed Farooqi told mediapersons that this demolition is thus “directly in violation of the High Court order and the board will soon challenge it in the High Court.” Farooqui was quoted by the BBC as saying, “The mosque was right in front of the SDM’s residence and perhaps they did not like it…” adding “The local committee had gone to the High Court, yet without giving any notice the SDM passed the order and the mosque was demolished” and asked what was great hurry for such an action. 

The Sunni Central Waqf Board stated that it will move High Court demanding “restoration of the mosque, a high level judicial inquiry and action against the guilty officials”. The reports quoted one Adnan Arif, a local resident of Ramsnehi Ghat who said, “The new tehsil complex was built in 1992, and only then the SDM house was built in front of this mosque. The old tehsil was behind the mosque. The mosque has been registered as Waqf Board property since 1968,” it was reported that the mosque has had an “electrical connection since 1959,” and prayers have been offered here every Friday, and even every day by many for decades.

Maulana Abdul Mustafa, a mosque committee member, told The Wire that the administration “demolished our century-old mosque. Thousands of people used to offer namaz(prayer) here.” But there is a backstory to the demolition which explains the relative ease with which this act of erasure – planned several months ago – was eventually accomplished.

On March 20, a day after protests broke out against the administration’s plan to demolish a mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki, 180 people were booked under serious charges, including attempt to murder reported The Wire. All those named in the FIR are Muslim. The report shared details of FIR 89 – that names 22 people and charges another 150 “unnamed”. According to the news report around six additional FIRs were filed, and around 30 people are still in jail. The Barabanki police also arrested one Ishtiyaq alias Sonu in this case under the National Security Act (NSA) on April 11, reported The Wire. It quotes the police press release as saying, “On April 11, the administration took action against a dreaded criminal Mohammad Ishtiyaq, son of Mohammad Iliyas…who had attacked and attempted to murder police force on March 19.” 

Related:

EXCLUSIVE: Are Varanasi police trying to create communal tension?
Yet another demand for ASI survey in UP, plea to look for idols buried under mosque
Gyanvapi case: Pleas before Allahabad HC challenging ASI survey order
Babri demolition case judge appointed UP’s deputy Lok Ayukta

The post Barabanki mosque demolition: UP Sunni Central Waqf Board to approach High Court appeared first on SabrangIndia.