UP court denies bail to three accused in illegal religious conversion case

Mirzapur (UP), Mar 7 (PTI) A district court here on Saturday rejected bail pleas of three persons arrested in connection with an alleged illegal religious conversion racket being run under the guise of gyms, officials said.

"District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra dismissed the bail applications of the accused Zahir Khan, Mohammad Shadab and Faisa, observing that the charges against them were serious," Amit Mishra, the investigating officer in the case, said.

According to police, the accused were arrested in January by a Mirzapur Dehat police station team over allegations including illegal religious conversion being carried out under the cover of gymnasium activities.

The case came to light after two women lodged a complaint in this regard on January 20, following which a case was registered and an investigation was launched.

Four police teams were constituted to investigate the matter.

During the probe, police sealed four gyms and arrested eight accused in connection with the case.

Officials also noted that a large number of women used to visit these gyms, but there were no female trainers appointed at the facilities. PTI COR CDN ARB ARB