A man from Uttar Pradesh has filed a police complaint alleging that he was coerced into Islamic practices and pressured to convert from Hinduism following his marriage to a Muslim woman. The case has drawn attention to ongoing concerns about religious freedom and forced conversion in interfaith relationships.
According to police and media reports, Kuldeep Kumar, a 28-year-old e-rickshaw driver from Kanpur, married Alfiya, a Muslim woman, in a consensual ceremony on April 6, 2023. Kumar claims that shortly after the marriage, his in-laws began pressuring him to adopt Islamic customs, including changing his name to “Rashid” and removing an Om symbol tattooed on his arm, which he says was done under pressure to prevent domestic conflict.
Kumar further alleges that he was coerced into undergoing circumcision, a traditional Islamic rite, approximately a year ago. His complaint names several members of his wife’s family—including her mother, Farida; brother, Sufiyan; and relatives Pappu Turki and Waris—as being involved in what he describes as a campaign to pressure him into religious conversion.
The situation escalated after the birth of the couple’s child on April 2, 2025. Kumar alleges that just three weeks later, on April 22, his wife’s family took Alfiya and the newborn from their shared home and has since refused to allow him access to them. He claims the move was intended to emotionally pressure him into formally converting to Islam and updating all his legal documents to reflect the name “Rashid.”
“I’ve already been mentally tortured. I’ve erased parts of my identity to keep the peace, but now they are trying to erase who I am,” Kumar told local media. “I was born a Hindu, and I will remain one.”
Authorities at the Sadar Kotwali Police Station have confirmed the registration of a case under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, which criminalizes forced religious conversions. Inspector Tarkeshwar Rai stated that an investigation is underway, and further legal action will be taken based on its findings.
This case is the latest in a series of interfaith disputes that have raised questions about the limits of religious tolerance, the role of families in such unions, and the need for legal safeguards in interfaith marriages. The law under which the case has been filed was introduced in 2020 to address concerns over coercion and fraud in religious conversions, particularly in the context of marriage.
As the investigation continues, officials stress the importance of handling such cases through legal processes rather than social media or public speculation.
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