Uttar Pradesh police have reportedly arrested the owner of a restaurant named Afifa restaurant in the Nabiganj area in Barabanki in connection with the forced religious conversion of a minor Dalit boy. The restaurant owner had allegedly forced the minor boy to undergo circumcision and convert to Islam. All the accused, including the restaurant owner, have been arrested by the police in the case.
The minor boy approached a Bajrang Dal leader
The matter came to light last year in December when a case was filed by a Bajrang Dal leader named Vinay Singh Rajput after the minor boy narrated his ordeal to him. On receiving information about the forced conversion of a minor Hindu boy, Vinay Singh Rajput along with Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) District President Brijesh Vaishya visited the Afifa restaurant in Barabanki where the boy used to work.
The boy told them that he was brought here by scrap dealers Murshid and Riyasat Ali (Murshid’s father) on the promise of a job. They kept him for some time and later he was given a job at Afifa restaurant. The boy accused the restaurant owner of forcefully making him undergo circumcision and converting him to Islam. The restaurant owner also changed his name to Noor Mohammad.
Bail applications of the two accused were rejected
A case was filed against Murshid, Riyasat Ali and the restaurant owner at the Barabanki police station on the complaint of Rajput under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Murshid and Riyasat Ali were immediately arrested by the police while the restaurant owner was on the run. The bail applications of the two arrested accused were rejected by the court on 20th December, 2024. OpIndia has obtained copies of the FIR and the bail orders. After the filing of the case, the minor boy was sent by the police to the Juvenile Justice Board Azamgarh.
The victim’s father was allegedly killed by his Muslim step-mother
According to police, the boy is a resident of Atraulia police station area of Azamgarh. The boy’s father had reportedly performed a second marriage with a Muslim woman after the death of his first Hindu wife and the boy’s mother. The boy has an elder sister who is married and lives in Ahmedabad. The boy alleged that his father was killed by his stepmother for property. She threw the boy out of the house after his father’s death. He came in touch with Murshid and Riyasat Ali while looking for a job.
