The Allahabad High Court has taken strong note of allegations that seven Muslim men from Bareilly were illegally detained, tortured, and forced to sign confessions in connection with an alleged “conversion racket.” The court has directed senior officials of Bareilly Police, including ADG, IG, and SSP, to personally appear on Sep. 8 and produce the detainees, reported the Madhyamam.
Families of the accused claim that their loved ones were picked up by the Special Operation Group (SOG) in plainclothes at different times in August without warrants, FIRs, or arrest memos. For days, families were kept in the dark about their whereabouts, prompting habeas corpus petitions in the High Court.
Relatives allege that the detainees were brutally beaten, electrocuted, and pressured to sign blank papers. In some cases, families were even asked to bring medicines, suggesting deterioration of the men’s health.
Among those detained is Mohammad Abdullah, formerly Brajpal, who reverted to Islam in 2014 after personal study. His wife, Tabassum, said she was initially misled into signing papers claiming her husband had “returned home” before learning he was being held for “converting to Islam.”
Abdullah’s mother, Usha Rani said his decision to embrace Islam was entirely voluntary and accepted by the family. “No one can force belief on someone. It was his own choice,” she said.
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