Call for neutral probe as allegations of forced conversion in UP's Siddharthnagar draw scrutiny

By A Representative 

A recent case registered under Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law in Siddharthnagar district is drawing public attention after contradictions emerged between the complainant’s past and present claims.

On July 22, Akhand Pratap Singh lodged a police complaint at the Itwa police station against Shabbir Ahmad, manager of Al Farooq Inter College, accusing him of offering ₹20 lakh to convert to Islam. An FIR was promptly filed under sections 506 of the IPC and sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. The alleged incident dates back to December 10, 2020.

However, documents from May 2020 suggest Singh may have already converted to Islam well before the alleged inducement. In a written statement dated May 18, 2020, filed by Itwa Circle Officer Yash Tripathi, Singh’s father, Umesh Pratap Singh, accused his son of having embraced Islam and changing his name to Imran nearly two years earlier. He also alleged threats, coercion, and property disputes involving his son. In a public affidavit published on May 15, 2020, in Dainik Jagran, the father declared that Akhand Pratap was disowned from his property due to his conduct and conversion.

“This statement predates the alleged inducement by more than seven months. It raises serious questions about the credibility of the complaint and the intentions behind it,” said Dr. Sandeep Pandey, a prominent academic and social activist. “If someone’s own father has declared in writing that the conversion already took place, how can a case be made that someone else offered a bribe for that same conversion months later?”

Records also show that in both 2016 and 2024, Akhand Pratap Singh had sought information under the RTI Act regarding Al Farooq College, and the college administration had duly provided all requested details. These past interactions suggest a long-standing and unresolved dispute rather than a sudden or isolated episode.

Observers suggest that the complaint may be an attempt to exploit the political atmosphere surrounding recent debates on religious conversion. “It seems Singh is leveraging the current climate following the high-profile Jalaluddin alias Chhangur Baba case to falsely implicate Shabbir Ahmad,” one source close to the matter noted.

While the Socialist Party (India) has formally called for a fair and unbiased investigation, it is the underlying contradictions and prior affidavits that have raised red flags. They demand that if Shabbir Ahmad is found innocent upon scrutiny of facts, the FIR should be withdrawn and he should be released from custody.

“The integrity of our criminal justice process must not be sacrificed at the altar of political convenience,” said Pandey, calling on the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, to ensure justice is not compromised.

As public pressure mounts, the case has become a test of how the state machinery balances its legal obligations with the need to shield innocent citizens from politically motivated persecution.