In the Chitradurga district of Karnataka, a father-son duo has been booked for allegedly converting a Hindu boy belonging to the Kuruba community to Islam forcefully. This is the first time that a minor boy has been booked under the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act 2022, popularly called the anti-conversion law. Both the accused boy and the victim were classmates.
The case against the 17-year-old Muslim boy and his father Garib was registered on the complaint lodged by the victim’s father Chitradurga’s Parashurampura on October 29.
In his complaint, the 17-year-old Hindu victim’s father stated that he grew suspicious of the attitude of his son, a pre-university college student in Challakere taluk when he stopped doing pooja and worshipping Hindu deities. The complainant added that his son recently declined to take part in the Dasara (Dussehra) festivities.
He stated that after searching his son’s backpack, he found Islam-related literature and a skull cap. The father added that he searched the boy’s phone and found ganja and other drug-related chats.
“When I inquired, I found that the minor and his father had taken my son to mosques in various towns of the Chitradurga district and converted him to Islam without permission,” the complainant said.
According to a police officer, the accused underage boy’s father runs a cycle repair shop. The officer added that no arrests have been made in the case so far, although statements from both sides have been recorded.
The case against the accused father-son duo has been lodged under Section 5 of the 2022 Act (prohibition of conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion, allurement, or marriage promise). Dharmendra Kumar Meena, SP of Chitradurga, informed reporters, “We are collecting details from both the victim and the accused as part of the investigation.”
