Shamli: In the case of an alleged unlawful religious conversion in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district, police recovered a nikahnama (marriage certificate) and made a third arrest in the case, officials said on Saturday.
According to Superintendent of Police NP Singh, Taufiq alias Bhola, was arrested during the investigation into allegations surrounding the conversion of Ayush Malik, a 30-year-old businessman from Shamli. A nikahnama linked to Ayush’s alleged marriage was recovered from Taufiq, although police have not disclosed further details about the document or clarified the exact role the accused allegedly played in the case, PTI reported.
The case began on June 6 after Ayush’s father, Devraj Malik, a prominent pharmaceutical trader and president of the Shamli Medicine Traders’ Association, lodged a complaint alleging that his son had been converted to Islam under the pretext of marriage to Chandni Qureshi. According to the FIR, Ayush was allegedly taken to Delhi, where a nikah was solemnised using forged documents as part of a larger conspiracy. Devraj Malik alleged that Chandni, members of her family and others manipulated his son, isolated him from his family and sought to gain control over family assets worth crores of rupees.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case against nine people under provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, extortion and intimidation. Chandni Qureshi and her father, Islam Qureshi, were arrested on June 7, while Taufiq alias Bhola has now become the third person to be arrested in the case. Police said efforts are underway to apprehend the remaining persons named in the FIR.
However, the allegations made by the family and police have been strongly contested by Ayush Malik himself. Appearing before reporters days after the arrests, Ayush said he had embraced Islam voluntarily and now identifies as Mohammad Ali. He maintained that he was not forced to convert and that Chandni had no role in his decision to change his faith. According to him, his interest in Islam developed years ago through personal study and exposure to religious lectures available online. He said he had converted several years earlier but kept the matter hidden from his family because he feared it would affect the marriage prospects of his sisters.
Ayush further stated that he had married Chandni of his own free will and insisted that the marriage was genuine. He rejected suggestions of “ghar wapsi” and declared that he had no intention of returning to Hinduism. He also criticised the arrest of Chandni and her father, saying they had been wrongly implicated, and vowed to fight for his wife. “I am a Muslim, and I will not return to the Hindu religion,” he told reporters, alleging that his father had filed the complaint under external and social pressure.
The Shamli case has thus evolved into two completely opposing narratives. On one hand, the prosecution alleges a carefully planned conspiracy involving unlawful religious conversion, forged marriage documents and possible financial motives. On the other, Ayush insists he exercised his constitutional right as an adult to choose his religion and partner.
With the recovery of the nikahnama and the third arrest, investigators continue to probe the authenticity of the marriage documents, the circumstances of the alleged conversion and the involvement of the remaining accused. The courts are yet to determine the veracity of either version, and the allegations remain under investigation.
