India: Mosque caretaker booked for converting Hindu man to Islam taking advantage of his problems

Akshay Gaur (Image: ANI)

On Friday (November 18), in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district, the caretaker of a mosque was booked on the charges of forcefully converting a Hindu man named Akshay Gaur to Islam. On Thursday evening, police said they had filed a case against Alim Ameenudin Qadri of Khandwa’s Noorani Mosque under relevant sections of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and the Indian Penal Code. 

Notably, the accused has not been arrested yet. Akshay Gaur of Prabhu Prem Puram locality filed a police complaint alleging that Alim Qadri converted him to Islam taking advantage of his family problems.

On Thursday victim Akshay Gaur told the media that he went to Nagchun five months ago as he was stressed over a family feud. Akshay met the accused Alim Ameenudin Qadri of Noorani Masjid there, who asked him to accept Islam claiming that it would bring him peace and help him get rid of his problems, he added.

“After that, I began offering Namaz and accepted Islam as a religion,” he explained. Gaur further said, “He also threatened me that I will go to hell and burn in hellfire (Dozakh Ki Aag) if I did not follow Islam. He told me that if I follow Islam, I will receive everything and reach Jannat. After that, I began offering Namaz at home on a regular basis. In addition, I began to spread Islam and send messages to my relatives.”

“I later changed my name from Akshay Gaur to Mohammad Fahim Khan and announced it on Facebook.” When my Hindu friends found out about it, they called me and persuaded me for three days. “They helped me get rid of the illusion I was caught in,” he added.

He then went to the City Superintendent of Police (CSP) office and filed a complaint against the conversion, he said.

“A youth Akshay Gaur has lodged a complaint against a Muslim cleric,” Khandwa Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Singh said after receiving the complaint. The matter is being investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.”

On Thursday evening, the police stated that an FIR was registered at Moghat Road police station under sections 3 (prohibition of unlawful religious conversion) and 5 (imprisonment for 1 to 5 years for prohibited unlawful religious conversion) of the Freedom of Religion Act and section 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) of the IPC on the basis of the victim’s complaint.

https://www.opindia.com/2022/11/mp-mosque-caretaker-booked-for-converting-hindu-man-to-islam/