In an effort to demand a fair investigation into the death of a member, a Muslim family in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat converted to Hinduism. Thirteen members of the family changed their religion in a ceremony organised on Tuesday with the assistance of Yuva Hindu Vahini-Bharat, a little known Hindutva outfit. The motive behind their decision to convert was to ensure justice for Gulhasan, who was found dead in July last year. The police called it a case of suicide while the family alleges that he was murdered due to a business rivalry.
Akhtar Ali, the head of the family, has now changed his name to Dharam Singh while his sons Dilshad, Nausad and Irshad will be called Diler, Narendra and Kavi respectively.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the family which originally hails from Baghpat’s Badarka village shifted to Navada village for brighter prospects in January this year. In July, Gulhasan was found dead, hanging from the roof of his store. “We told police that it (Gulhasan’s death) was a planned murder but they were told us that he committed suicide,” Dilshad (now Diler) said. He added that they received no support from the village or from their relatives.
The family claims that when they also approached members of the Muslim community, they were met with humiliation. On Monday, the family submitted an application for conversion to the district administration. The ceremony was organised by Yuva Hindu Vahini-Bharat who called it a case of ‘ghar wapsi’. A ‘hawan’ was conducted as per religious rituals and the family converted to Hinduism, reports PTI.
Meanwhile, the administration has brushed aside the allegations and called it a gimmick. “On Monday, five persons had come to Baraut tehsil with an application for conversion of 20 of their family members. On Tuesday, the number got reduced to 13. Besides, they are members of Nat community which has people practising multiple faiths,” District Magistrate Rishirendra Kumar told The Times of India.
