Cops register FIR over Ghaziabad ‘conversions’

GHAZIABAD: Valmiki families in Karhera, who claimed to have converted to Buddhism in protest against the brutality inflicted on a Dalit girl in Hathras, said more villagers would follow them on November 2, when the rape and murder case comes up for hearing. The claim came on a day the Ghaziabad administration and police said they had found no evidence of the alleged conversion and the certificates the villagers were showing contained no details.
While the administration maintains no religious conversion too place, police have registered an FIR against unidentified persons for promoting enmity between religious groups (IPC Section 153A) and incitement (Section 505) on a complaint by a person who claimed to be from the Valmiki community. The case has been filed at Sahibabad police station. Montu Chandel Valmiki, a resident of Shalimar Garden, said in his complaint that “rumours of conversion” had been spread to stoke communal violence.
On October 14, at least 236 members of Valmiki community claimed to have converted to Buddhism in the presence of BR Ambedkar’s great-grandson Rajratan Ambedkar. In a video uploaded on You-Tube, Rajratan Ambedkar is purportedly seen administering oaths to a group of people.
On Thursday, teams of police and administrative officials camped in Karhera through the day. Functionaries of political parties also met the villagers. “We have taken this step just for the daughter of Hathras. This could happen to us tomorrow,” said Kamlesh, a local.
Pawan Valmiki, a villager at the forefront of the protests, said he had met Rajratan Ambedkar and told him about the decision to convert. “Our conversion is directly related to the Hathras case. Altogether, there are 70 Valmiki families in Karhera. Of them, 50 families have converted. It is wrong to say that these certificates are forged. Politics is being played now, which is why an FIR has been filed,” he said.