Till recently, Akhtar Ali was just another resident of Baghpat. All he wanted was justice for a family member, who died under mysterious circumstances. After running from pillar to post, Ali and members of his family decided to convert to Hinduism.
Akhtar Ali is now Dharam Singh and he hopes that the Uttar Pradesh Police will now listen to him.
Around 20 people of the family from Baghpat’s Badarka village have converted to Hinduism. The family claims that the conversion was necessary because there was no help from officials after a family member was allegedly murdered.
Gulshan Ali's body was found hanging and the family claimed it was a murder, but police investigation concluded it was a case of suicide.
"We will not get any justice if we continue to be Muslims. It is some people from the Muslim community who killed Gulshan Ali, so this conversion is necessary," said one of the family members.
The family had submitted affidavits to the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) on October 1 for registration of their conversions.
As per Hindu rituals, the family on Tuesday was converted to Hinduism amid hawans. The event was organised by Hindu organisations in the area.
Talking to reporters, Dharam Singh said, ‘My name was Akhtar Ali, I have changed my religion because the police did not investigate our case in a fair manner, even the Muslim community did not stand in our support.’
Angrily, Singh said that, ‘In (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's India, Muslims not treated fairly. I demand justice.’
In the wake of this development, the district administration has been monitoring the situation closely to avoid communal tension and any untoward flare-up.
Earlier, a priest of a famous church in meighbouring Meerut was arrested on charges of alleged religious conversion of 17 Hindus into Christianity after offering them huge sums. The Priest of the Mulhera Church in Meerut Father Deependra Prakash Maalewar was caught by the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists when he was making affidavits of 17 Hindus for their conversion into Christianity in the chamber of a lawyer. Agitated activists thrashed both of them at the Sardhana Tehsil and brought them at the police station along with Hindus who were being converted into Christianity.
