Top News

Budaun: A fast-track court in Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun district has sentenced an occultist to 10 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh after convicting him in a case involving abduction, wrongful confinement, rape and forced religious conversion, prosecution officials said on Tuesday, July 21.

The conviction is the first in the district under provisions relating to forced religious conversion, they said.

Special Judge (Fast Track Court for Crimes Against Women) Neha Garg on Monday convicted Shakir Hussain, a resident of Risoli village in the Bilsi area, after finding him guilty on six charges, including kidnapping, criminal intimidation, wrongful confinement, rape and forced religious conversion.

Additional District Government Counsel Madan Lal Rajput said the case was registered on May 27, 2025, on the complaint of a man who alleged that Hussain had lured away his wife and daughter on March 21, 2025.

During the trial, the woman told the court that Hussain, who projected himself as a tantrik (occultist), had started visiting their house on the pretext of treating her ailing son.

She alleged that Hussain later took her and her daughter to a room in Sidhpura in neighbouring Kasganj district, where they were wrongfully confined.

The woman alleged that she was forced to offer namaz and convert her religion, while her daughter was threatened with death if she resisted. She also accused Hussain of raping her and keeping her in captivity for nearly three months.

Following investigation, police filed a chargesheet against the accused.

After examining the evidence, the court convicted Hussain and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment besides imposing a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh, prosecution officials said.