A court in Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh, has recently directed action against police officials for falsely implicating two men in a case involving forced conversion to Christianity.

Judge Gyanendra Tripathi acquitted the accused, expressing concern that the case highlights a troubling issue in a civilized society, where individuals can initiate criminal proceedings against others to further their own interests.

The court determined that the police acted under the influence of the complainant, who was primarily seeking publicity.

"It is clear that the police acted under pressure on the complaints made by persons like the plaintiff for their desire for publicity and took action in a futile attempt to give legal form to a baseless, fabricated and imaginary story which wasted valuable time, labour and money of not only the police but also the court," the judge said.

The court opined that the true culprits were the complainant, the witnesses, and the police officers involved, including the Station In-Charge, the Investigating Officer, and the officer who approved the chargesheet. The court stated that their collective actions had caused irreparable harm to the two accused and ordered that action be taken against them.

"The Senior Superintendent of Police, Bareilly, to take appropriate legal action against the complainant, Himanshu Patel, as well as key witnesses Arvind Kumar, Devendra Singh, and Ravindra Kumar, along with the former Police Station Incharge, the investigating officer, and the jurisdictional officer who approved the charge sheet".

The case dates back to May 29, 2022, when Himanshu Patel, a resident of Sakatpur village in Bareilly and district president of the Hindu Jagran Manch, accused Abhishek Gupta, a Gorakhpur resident and former employee of Rohilkhand Medical College, of leading a conversion program with a team of eight people in Bichpuri village.

Gupta, who had been employed in the college's CT Department since 2007, lost his job and was arrested under the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. Subsequently, Kundal Lal, a resident of Bichpuri Nai Basti, was also arrested.

In acquitting both men, the court noted that the police had failed to produce any witnesses or individuals who had been allegedly coerced into converting by the accused.

"In the admittedly presented case, accused Abhishek Gupta not only lost his job but also suffered financial and social loss. Accused Kundan Lal was not even reported to be present at the scene of crime by any witness, he was not wanted either, yet he was allegedly arrested on the alleged disclosure of accused Abhishek Gupta," the court found.

Case Title : State v Abhishek Gupta & Anr