A 21-year-old man in Bareilly, who became the first person to be booked under the new ordinance against unlawful conversion in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Wednesday, police said.
The accused Uwaish Ahmed was absconding since being booked under the Sections 3 and 5 of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, which was cleared by the State Cabinet last week and promulgated on November 27.
This was the first case lodged in the State under the new ordinance, which makes religious conversion a cognisable and non-bailable offence inviting penalties up to 10 years in prison if found to be effected for marriage or through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or other allegedly fraudulent means.
The FIR was lodged against the accused person in Deorania Police Station on charges of allegedly trying to coerce a 20-year-old married Hindu woman to convert her to his religion and marry him.
Sections 504 and 506 of the Indian…