Hamirpur, UP:

Four people were arrested in Maudaha area here for allegedly trying to convert a Hindu family under the pretext of curing an illness, police said on Monday.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Manoj Kumar Gupta said an FIR was registered in connection with the matter on Saturday.

Nooruddin, Khalid, Irfan, and Mohammad Hanif, were arrested the same day and booked under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.

A fifth, Meraj Hasan, is being looked for.

Bajrang Dal’s former district convenor Ashish Singh claimed the accused lured and misled a Dalit family into conversion.

According to a complaint filed by some Hindu right groups, a ‘mazaar’ was built at one Ajit Kumar’s house in the Purvi Taros Mohalla, where a religious ceremony (urs) was being conducted.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jaipur:

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar today said the country is seeing religious conversions in a structured manner that is opposite to the country’s values and constitutional principles with a “sugar-coated philosophy” being sold and vulnerable sections of the society targeted.

Delivering the inaugural address at the Hindu Spiritual and Seva Mela 2024, he said this is dangerous and is happening through “policy, institutionally, and in a planned conspiracy”.

“A sugar-coated philosophy is being sold. Vulnerable sections of the society, including tribals, are being targeted and lured with temptations,” Vice President Dhankhar said.

“I firmly believe that we are witnessing this very painful religious conversions in a structured manner as a policy, and this is opposite to our values and constitutional principles. There is an urgent need to neutralise such sinister forces. We must remain vigilant and act swiftly. You cannot imagine the extent of those who are currently active in fragmenting India,” he said.

#WATCH | Jaipur, Rajasthan: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar says, “The values ​​of our constitution define Sanatana Dharma very well. Sanatana Dharma is enshrined in the preamble. Our constitutional values ​​can be seen in Sanatana Dharma. The preamble of the Indian Constitution… pic.twitter.com/vG3IWoj9BN

— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2024

Vice President Dhankhar also said the Preamble of the Constitution reflects the essence of Sanatan Dharma.

“Hindu religion is quintessentially inclusive in true sense. Spending life in the service of others is the essence and basic mantra of Indian culture. Even today the spirit of service is strongly present in Hindu society,” he said.

He said the Indian society handholds in distress at the cost of one’s stress.

The Vice President said invaders came, foreign powers ruled, yet there has never been a decline in India’s spirit of service. The people have consistently walked this path, he said, adding even today the sentiment of service is strongly present in Hindu society.

Vice President Dhankhar said many reports of studies by international bodies are being released, and most of them try to find shortcomings in India, suggesting that India is a country where four out of 10 people are engaged in public service, helping others.

“I do not agree with the figure of 40 per cent; this assessment is not accurate; the actual number is much higher. We are a society that supports others in distress at the cost of our own stress,” he said.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed criminal proceedings before a trial court in Uttar Pradesh over five cases lodged against the vice-chancellor of the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS) and others for alleged illegal conversion of Hindus to Christianity.

The top court, which has been granting protection from arrest and bail to the accused, did not allow the prayer of the Uttar Pradesh government for the trial court proceedings to continue.

“There should not be further proceedings in connection with the FIRs in the trial court in the case,” a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said in its order.

The bench took note of the submission of a battery of lawyers including senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for SHUATS VC Rajendra Bihari Lal, that the proceedings in the trial court be stayed as all the accused will have to appear following summons that will be issued to them in pursuance of fresh chargesheets filed by the state police in these cases.

Senior lawyer Mukta Gupta, appearing for one of the accused, said testimony of none of the alleged victims, who were claimed to have been lured into Christianity, was recorded by the state police.

The bench heard the arguments and will resume the hearing on August 2.

Earlier, the bench had fixed for final hearing the nine petitions seeking the quashing or clubbing of five FIRs lodged against the SHUATS VC and others pertaining to alleged illegal religious conversions.

The cases against Mr Lal concern offences under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 504 (intentional insult with an aim to provoke breach of peace) and 386 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code. He has also been booked under certain provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

The top court has been passing orders from time to time protecting the accused from arrest in connection with the FIRs lodged in Fatehpur.

The Uttar Pradesh Police had earlier told the court that Mr Lal and the other accused are the “main perpetrators” of a mass religious conversion programme that involved funds from about 20 countries.

Police have alleged that Mr Lal, among the other accused, is actually a “notorious criminal” involved in 38 cases of various nature, including cheating and murder, registered across Uttar Pradesh over the last two decades.

Police have also alleged that about 90 Hindus congregated at the Evangelical Church of India in Hariharganj, Fatehpur for converting to Christianity and were put under “undue influence, coercion, and lured through fraud and the promise of easy money”.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)