On Wednesday, a youth namely Tabarak Khan, a native of Samastipur in Bihar was arrested by police in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh under the anti-conversion law for kidnapping a minor girl and forcibly marrying her.
The police said that he was living in a rented house in Shahpur, Uttar Pradesh, he kidnapped the girl from his neighborhood and forcibly married to her on March 1.
The police said that a case of kidnapping along with provisions of the anti-conversion law has been lodged against the man, while further sections of law will be added if required after the girl’s statement in the court.
There is a search going on for a person who facilitated the Nikkah ceremony, the police said.
The girl in her statement said that the man gave her life threats and warned her to not tell anyone about the marriage and return to her home, on the same day of the marriage.
The girl’s mother told the police that the accused had been teasing her daughter. She said that she found a document written in Urdu from her daughter’s school bag and after inquiring, it came to know that it was a marriage certificate.
The police said that the minor girl didn’t told anyone about the marriage, out of fear. Her family is very poor and they work as laborers, they added.
On Sunday, after the complaint of the girl’s mother, an FIR under sections of kidnapping and UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020 was lodged and the accused was arrested on Tuesday, SHO of Shahpur police station S K Singh told.
He said that the medical report is awaited.