Bhopal: A Madhya Pradesh district court has sentenced a couple to two years in jail for allegedly forcing their niece’s husband to adopt Christianity, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Sagar district court additional sessions judge Sagar Kiran Kol also imposed a fine of Rs.25,000 on the couple, said officials.
Accused Ramesh Ahirwar Masih, 40, and his wife Sakhi Masih, 40, both residents of Vivek Nagar in Sagar district were found guilty under Section 3 read with Section 5 of Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act 2021, officials said.
Ramesh and his wife Sakhi were booked under the MP Freedom of Religion Act in October 2021, based on the complaint filed by Abhishek Ahirwar, additional public prosecutor Raman Kumar Jarolia said. Based on the complaint, the duo were arrested in October 2021.
They were initially arrested and sent to jail but were released on bail after a month.
Abhishek and his wife Sapna got married in July 2021. However, in August 2021, Sapna left Abhishek’s house and did not return. When Abhishek called her, she refused to return asking him to talk to his paternal uncle Ramesh, according to the first information report (FIR).
“They lured the complainant to adopt Christianity to get a job of Rs.20,000 per month. They also threatened him that if he did not accept Christianity, his wife Sapna, who is a niece of the accused, would be given the job and she would leave him,” Jarolia said.
In its recent order, the district court found that accused Ramesh and Sakhi have not only tempted, pressured and exerted undue influence on Abhishek to convert to religion, but have also encouraged his wife and others to convert.
“In such a situation, accused Ramesh and Sakhi are punished with two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.25,000 each under Section 3 read with Section 5 of the Act. If the accused do not deposit the fine amount, in case of default they will have to undergo additional rigorous imprisonment of 6 months each,” the court order read.
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