Bijnor, December 25: A Muslim teenager in Bijnor has been reportedly arrested on charges of trying to convert a 16-year-old Hindu girl forcibly to Islam. The girl has however denied the accusation. They both were returning from a friend's birthday party on December 14 when they were harassed by a group pf people and taken to the police custody. Next day, on December 15 the girls's father filed a complaint against the boy under the state's controversial new anti conversion law and the boy was arrested. He has been in jail for over a week now. Uttar Pradesh: 27-Year-Old Man, His Parents, Three Siblings Booked Under New Anti-Conversion Law Over ‘Love Jihad’ Suspicion.

According to the Bijnor Police's version of the incident, the Muslim boy had faked a Hindu identity to coax the girl into eloping with her. "A girl had been missing for a few days, she has been found and a case filed. The boy had given a Hindu name, Sonu, and had coaxed her to run away for the purpose of converting. She somehow managed to escape. The accused has been arrested," said Sanjay Kumar, a senior police officer told NTDV. Anti-Conversion Law: Husband, His Brother Booked in UP's Moradabad on Complaint of 22-Year-Old Wife's Mother.

However the girl and her mother both denied any case of forced conversion. Contrary to the police's version, the girl's mother reportedly said, "She was returning from a birthday party. The boy said he would drop her. The villagers caught them, she said she was at a birthday party but no one listened to her. We want justice."

The girl added, "Around 11.30 pm some people caught hold of us - the villagers beat us up. They accused us of theft. They caught one boy, I don't know who he was, and they caught me. I did not know who the boy was. It is not true that he was trying to convert me," while speaking to NDTV.

Following the claims of wrongful accusations, the Bijnor Police clarified its stance on Twitter. It tweeted, "the case was filed based on a complaint by the father of the girl, her statement has been recorded before a magistrate. The accused has been arrested on the basis of other evidence too."

The arrest of the Muslim boy in Bijnor adds to the list of controversial and debatable arrests made under UP's new anti-conversion law. Various allegations have been made against the police for wrong arrests and rounding up newlyweds.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 25, 2020 01:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).