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BAREILLY: An FIR has been registered under Section 3 of the stringent Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act against five minor Muslim girls — aged between 15 and 17 — for allegedly getting their 16-year-old Hindu friend to wear a burqa in Moradabad.The incident took place on Dec 12, 2025, but has come to light now after police said that they’ve registered a case following a complaint by the girl’s brother, Daksh Chaudhary, on Friday.If found guilty under this law, an accused, especially if the victim is a minor, can be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term “which shall not be less than 5 years but which may extend to 14 years”.Superintendent of police (rural) in Moradabad, Kunwar Akash Singh, told TOI, “As soon as we received the complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered and further investigation is on.” Section 3 of the anti-conversion law deals with “prohibition of conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion, and allurement”.“My sister was talking to one of the girls whom she’d met about two months back and had been going out regularly with. The five girls who took away my sister in burqa had may have had some ill intention. So, I approached cops at Bilari police station,” Chaudhary, the complainant, told TOI. A purported video of the incident was widely circulated on social media. In the minute-long video clip, the girls can be seen in a narrow alley between houses. One of them is seen wearing a burqa over her dress with the other girls trying to help her.“The accused girls and the Hindu girl are friends. All are believed to be minors. That afternoon, they were on their way to a restaurant which crosses the victim’s brother’s shop. They didn’t want him to know about it. Fearful of getting caught, the Hindu girl may have worn her friends’ burqa,” said a police officer, privy to the case.He added that since it is a sensitive matter, the local police registered a case following the complaint filed by the family members. “Further investigation is on to find out the backgrounds of the young girls and their motive, if any, behind the incident,” the officer said. As they are minors, police said, they cannot be immediately put the girls in custody.
