Police question Pilibhit cleric in KGMU doctor conversion case
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Pilibhit: In a recent development, King George's Medical University (KGMU) has decided to expel a resident doctor accused by a colleague of sexual exploitation and religious conversion, as police questioned a Muslim cleric in Pilibhit in connection with the case.
The cleric, who serves as the city Qazi in Pilibhit district, was questioned by Lucknow police after his name surfaced in the case linked to a KGMU junior resident doctor.
Police said they are investigating whether a marriage allegedly connected to him was conducted in compliance with legal procedures and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
He told reporters that he cooperated fully with investigators and provided all information related to the marriage. He denied any wrongdoing and said the woman who filed the complaint in Lucknow was not the one whose marriage he had solemnised.
He said he had conducted the 'nikah' of the accused doctor and a Hindu woman at his residence in March last year in the presence of the woman's parents and brother, only after obtaining their consent. He maintained that no religious conversion took place and that the 'nikahnama' recorded the woman's original Hindu name.
He also claimed the woman whose marriage he conducted continues to live with the accused and has not lodged any complaint.
Meanwhile, KGMU spokesperson K K Singh told reporters on Monday that the vice chancellor had briefed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the case and the action taken by the university.
Official sources said KGMU Vice Chancellor Sonia Nityanand met the chief minister in Lucknow and apprised him of the findings of the university's internal inquiry, including the report of the Vishakha Committee, which has prima facie found the allegations against the accused doctor to be true.
Nityanand also informed Adityanath that KGMU has decided to expel the accused from the MD course, the sources said.
The accused doctor was arrested on January 10 following a complaint by a woman doctor, who accused him of concealing his marital status, sexually exploiting her on the promise of marriage, forcing her to undergo an abortion, threatening her and pressuring her to convert.
According to the official sources, Uttar Pradesh Police is also examining the case as a possible organised religious conversion racket and probing whether it is linked to a larger network.
The investigation may be transferred to the state's Special Task Force, they added.
Police said further investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events and the role of other individuals named in the case.
Also Read:KGMU doctor arrested for alleged sexual assault and forced conversion
