Cleric’s bail plea rejected in “Love Jihad” linked religious conversion case

Vadodara: The local court has rejected a bail application of maulvi (Muslim cleric) who performed religious ceremony of conversion of a Hindu victim girl to Islam in Vadodara. A cleric has been arrested in the first case filed under a new amended law popularly known as anti Love-Jihad law in Vadodara.

The police had nabbed the accused Samir Abdul Qureshi, his family members and Maulvi Islamudin Mohammadmusa Shaikh (Age 32 years, residing in Kalyan Nagar, Gosiya Masjid, Sayajigunj) after the complaint was filed by victim woman living in Gotri area of the city against the accused under “anti-love jihad” Act. A maulvi had officiated the nikah of the victim woman with the accused after converting her to Islam from Hindu.

Accused maulvi had applied for a bail from the jail which was rejected by the court. Special Public Prosecutor Anil Desai argued opposing the bail plea that the law for religious conversion existed even before the emergence of Anti-love Jihad Act, according to which the permission of the district magistrate was necessary before performing religious conversion of any person. In this case, the bail shouldn’t be given to Maulvi Islamudin as he openly breached this law by not taking the permission, he added.