On Saturday, 16th September 2023, police arrested a couple for the unlawful conversion of a Dalit Christian man to Islam in the Thana Bhawan area of Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district. The arrested individuals are identified as Shaukeen and his wife Kamarbatoon alias Mahi, both residents of Okhla in New Delhi.
Shamli’s Superintendent of Police Abhishek said that the couple converted a Dalit Christian man a few days ago. The police have lodged a case against the couple under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. The SP further said, “The accused are also said to be involved in the conversion of some other people from the village. Our teams are investigating.”
The Superintendent of Police in Shamli, Abhishek, said that the police received information regarding the suspicious activities of a young individual named Sooraj and his associate, Mahi, within Madalpur village. Following this, both Sooraj and Mahi were taken into custody and brought to the Thanabhawan police station for further questioning. During the interrogation, the information disclosed led to the conclusion that Shaukeen and his wife, who presented herself as a Christian using the name Mahi, had forced Sooraj to convert to Islam.
Sooraj, a young individual of the Dalit community who had embraced Christianity approximately two years ago, established contact with Mahi through an online gaming platform. In their online communication, Mahi initially represented herself as a Christian. As their conversations progressed, they discussed a shared experience of encountering supernatural challenges in their lives. Subsequently, both Sooraj and Mahi made a visit to a priest located in the Karali region of Chandigarh, seeking guidance and solutions to address the issues they were purportedly facing.
Mahi shared with Sooraj that she was living with her maternal uncle, Shaukeen, in the Okhla area of Delhi and extended an invitation for him to visit. Sooraj became wary when he saw her Aadhaar card, which indicated her name as Kamarbatoon and her place of residence as Jogipura in Bijnor. However, Mahi successfully allayed his suspicions by explaining that her family background was a mix, with her mother following Christianity and her father adhering to the Muslim faith.
Sooraj told the police that during his visit to Delhi, Shaukeen and Mahi introduced him to an unknown person. This individual made efforts to convince Sooraj that Christianity and Islam shared many similarities and encouraged him to convert to Islam. Concurrently, Mahi and Shaukeen provided instructions to Sooraj on the proper way to perform Namaz, and as part of this conversion process, his name was altered to Asad.
It was only during the course of the interrogation that the police uncovered Mahi’s true relationship with Shaukeen – she was, in fact, Shaukeen’s wife. This revelation clarified that the couple had intentionally concealed their marital bond in a deliberate attempt to deceive Sooraj and force him to convert to Islam.
