Uttar Pradesh police probe alleged forced conversion

A controversy has erupted in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, over the religious conversion of a young businessman, with police launching a criminal investigation and the man at the centre publicly asserting his conversion was voluntary. The case involves allegations of coercion, forgery, and a property dispute.

Ayush Malik, the 30-year-old son of prominent pharmaceutical trader Devraj Malik, now identifies as Mohammad Ali. His father filed a police complaint alleging that Ayush was systematically influenced and converted to Islam under the pretext of marriage to a woman named Chandni Qureshi, a gym trainer. Devraj Malik claimed the conversion was orchestrated to target the family's substantial assets, stating his son had been "brainwashed" and "lured into a romantic trap because of his assets."

Based on the complaint, police registered a case against ten individuals, including Chandni Qureshi, her father Islam Qureshi, and several clerics. Authorities have arrested Chandni and Islam Qureshi, who are now in judicial custody. The accused face charges including cheating, forgery, extortion, criminal intimidation, and violations of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of...