UP Assembly passes amendments to 'Love Jihad Law'
violators to face life imprisonment, Rs 5L fine
Lucknow: The state government on Tuesday passed the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024, popularly called the ‘Love Jihad Law’, proposing stringent measures, including as high as life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakh for people found guilty of marrying a woman by deceit and also converting her religion.
The amended bill, which categorizes forced conversion under threat, promise of marriage or conspiracy under serious offence, has increased the sentence period for the guilty from 10 years to between 20 years and life imprisonment. The fine amount has also been hiked from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh. Additionally, the amendment provides for any citizen to lodge an FIR in case of religious conversion, as against the earlier provision of only the victim’s parents, siblings or the victim himself/herself, being permitted to file an FIR against such forced conversion.
The bill also proposes for such cases will not be heard by any court below the Sessions Court, making the crime non-bailable.
The amendment to the ‘Love Jihad Law’ has garnered mixed reactions. The BJP has lauded the bill, calling it a positive step, while the Samajwadi Party has criticized it as a 'divisive' measure motivated by the BJP’s ‘aversion’ towards a specific community.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
