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Flare-up over `conversion' subsides in Sikar town

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: The tehsil town of Neem Ka Thana in Sikar district of Rajasthan remained peaceful on Friday, two days after the flare-up over the alleged conversion of a Hindu boy to Islam. The shops and markets functioned normally even as the police, deployed in good numbers, remained alert and kept vigil.

The town had witnessed violence and arson following the news that Munna and Babu, who had allegedly abducted a seven-year-old boy, Shankar of Jhaldi village a month back, had converted him to Islam at the nearby Sirohi village. The boy's mother Anita, who registered the complaint at the Neem Ka Thana police station charged Munna and Babu of torturing Shankar and forcibly confining him prior to subjecting him to ceremonies associated with conversion to Islam.

Speaking on phone from Sikar, Superintendent of Police Alok Vashist said the physical examination of Shankar, carried out by a medical board, confirmed circumcision of the boy.

The accused Munna and Babu are in police custody. A case has been registered against them under Sections 326, 365, 156(A) and 344 of the IPC-- involving charges of abduction, causing grievous injuries to a person, causing communal discord and illegal detention.

Suresh alias Raghuveer Rajput of Sirohi village was arrested in the wake of violent protests in the town by the activists of the Viswha Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. A few wayside shops were set ablaze in the strife, which had resulted in holding up road traffic on the highway for three hours.

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