Forced religious conversion attempt in Meerut: Nine booked
Meerut: Uttar Pradesh police registered a case against nine people, including three women, in Meerut on Friday for attempting a forced conversion of slum dwellers in Mangatpuram into Christianity during the Covid lockdowns.
The FIR has been filed registered under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion Act, 2021, but no one has been arrested yet, reported Times of India.
The case was registered after 100 people from Mangatpuram, most of who are pushcart vendors, were mobilized by a local leader of the BJP, met the senior superintendent in Meerut on Thursday.
The accused, Chhabili aka Shiva, Binwa, Anil, Sardar, Nikku, Basant, Prema, Titali, and Reena, are learned to have forced the complainants to convert to Christianity in exchange for their help during the lockdowns two years ago. They also apparently encouraged visits to church and forced the complainants to destroy idols of Hindu gods, as mentioned in the complaint with the police.
The slum dwellers, who struggled to maintain their households during the lockdowns, were offered food and money by the better off in the area. Following such help, the complainants were told that Jesus Christ was the only God, to worship him, to accompany the better off families to churches and to also stop praying Hindu Gods, the police were told.
The complainants reportedly added that they were forced to change their names in the Aadhaar cards. “When we celebrated Diwali, they came to our homes and tore pictures of Hindu Gods, saying we should pray to Christ now, since we had converted,” they said. It is also learned that when the complainants protested, the accused demanded Rs 2 lakh each from them.
The police complaint also states that the accused, armed with weapons like knives and rods, threatened to kill the complainants if the latter approached the authorities.
Stating that their conversion to Christianity was forced and fraudulent, the complainants have reportedly insisted on all being ‘Sanatan Dharmis’ (Hindus).
The complainants as well as the BJP Meerut city secretary Deepak Sharma have asked the police to take strict action against the guilty. In addition, Hindu Jagran Manch member Sachin Sirohi visited Mangatpuram and urged for action against the guilty parties.
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UAE condemns 'terrorist' attack on Indian-flagged vessel off Oman coast
Dubai (PTI): The UAE has condemned a strike on an Indian-flagged vessel off the coast of Oman, calling it a "terrorist attack" and a "dangerous escalation" that threatens the stability of critical waterways.
The commercial vessel, which was sailing from Somalia, came under attack on Wednesday, according to India's Ministry of External Affairs.
All 14 crew members were rescued by Omani authorities, but it was not immediately known who carried out the strike, it said.
"The UAE strongly condemns terrorist attack on Indian-flagged ship off the coast of Oman," the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said in a statement issued on Thursday. "This attack constitutes a grave threat to the security of international navigation and represents a dangerous escalation aimed at undermining the stability of critical waterways."
The incident took place amid the fragile situation in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway close to the coast of Oman through which roughly one-fifth of the world's energy supplies pass.
It has been severely disrupted by the conflict in West Asia that started on February 28, with the US and Israel launching joint attacks on Iran, triggering retaliatory strikes.
The MoFA further said that the attack on the India-flagged vessel on Wednesday was a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which affirms the importance of freedom of navigation and rejects the targeting of commercial vessels or the obstruction of international maritime routes.
It emphasised that "targeting commercial shipping and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail represent acts of piracy and constitute a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security".
The UAE expressed solidarity with India and its support for all measures aimed at safeguarding the security and safety of its vessels and interests, the statement said.
Earlier, India had described the attack as "unacceptable".
At least two other Indian-flagged ships have been attacked since the conflict broke out.
