CBI registers FIR against 7 for forced religious conversion in West Bengal

The CBI under the directions of the Calcutta High Court has registered an FIR against seven people accused of forced religious conversion in West Bengal's Malda district, officials said on Thursday.

The high court ordered the investigation following a writ petition by two sisters, who claimed their husbands Buddhu Mandal and Gauranga Mandal were forcibly converted from Hinduism to Islam as punishment for working for a political party which lost the last assembly elections.

The petitioners also submitted that their husbands were missing since November 24, 2021, but the police did not take any action in the matter even after being informed.

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The West Bengal government, however, submitted that the two brothers had converted to Islam voluntarily and had left home because of a family dispute.

On the orders of the high court, the CBI registered a preliminary enquiry on February 20. A report was submitted to the court in May, following which it ordered the registration of an FIR on June 6.

Complying with the order, the agency registered a case on Tuesday against Khurshed Sekh, Nazu Sekh, Barkatti Sekh, Habib Sekh, Rabiul Sekh, Muktadul Sekh, and Tinu Sekh, all residents of Malda, and other unidentified individuals, the officials said.

They said Buddhu Mandal, husband of Parbati Mandal, was illiterate and Gauranga Mandal, who was married to Kalabati Mandal, had studied till Class 5.

"Enquiry revealed that on 24.11.2021 at around 07:00 hours, both the brothers went out to earn a livelihood. Gauranga Mandal went to the residence of Rabiul Sk and his brother Buddhu Mandal went to the residence of Habib Sk. At that time, Gauranga Mandal was working under Muktadul Sk, head mason. They came back home for lunch at about 14:00 hours and after having lunch, returned to work. However, they did not return home in the evening," the CBI report said.

After this, the two sisters informed the local police that their husbands had been converted to Islam and taken to offer namaz, the report alleged.

The brothers were later found in a Muslim household and police informed their wives that they would be produced before a court on November 28, 2021, four days after their disappearance, it said.

The two women waited the whole day but their husbands were not produced in court, following which they returned home. After their return, the brothers were produced before the SDO court in the evening amid a huge presence of the Muslim community, the report which became the basis of the FIR alleged.

On January 4, the brothers were spotted seeking alms with some members of the Muslim community members in nearby Dharla village. Their wives reached the village and tried to persuade them to come home but were threatened by those accompanying the two brothers, the report said.

According to it, Gauranga Mandal had managed to escape the clutches of the members of the Muslim community and went into hiding with his wife in the neighbouring fields but local police registered a case on the basis of a purported complaint by his brother, tracked them down and produced them before a court.

Kalabati Mandal was released by the court but her husband was allegedly taken away by members of the Muslim community, the report said, adding the brothers had told their family members covertly over the phone that they are being held against their will and forced to perform tasks like slaughtering animals and administering drugs to keep them in confinement.

Based on these findings, the court ordered the FIR, the officials said.