New Delhi, June 30 (IANS) Ayush Malik’s father on Tuesday expressed relief after his son returned to Hinduism, months after Ayush’s wife and her father were arrested in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, on charges of alleged forced religious conversion.

Speaking to reporters, Ayush’s father, Devaraj Malik, said that by the grace and blessings of God, his son had returned to Hinduism.

“With the grace and blessing of God, my son has returned to Hinduism. I want to thank the media for helping us in this,” he said.

A video that surfaced on social media shows Ayush performing Hindu religious rituals and prayers. In the video, he says he has chosen to re-embrace Sanatan Dharma after seeing his parents’ pain and wishes to live with his family.

“I had accepted Islam and changed my religion. But after seeing my parents’ pain and keeping my family in mind, I have voluntarily returned to Hinduism. I want to live under the care and protection of my family. Please forgive me,” Ayush says in the video.

Ayush was also seen performing puja rituals according to Hindu traditions.

His father, Devaraj Malik, also confirmed that his son had formally returned to Sanatan Dharma. The family has maintained that Ayush’s decision was entirely voluntary.

The development comes weeks after Uttar Pradesh Police arrested physiotherapist Chandni Qureshi and her father, Islam Qureshi, following a complaint filed by Devaraj Malik under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.

According to the complaint, Ayush, a Bachelor of Pharmacy graduate who helped run his family’s medical store, first met Chandni in 2018 while receiving treatment for a leg injury at a hospital in Shamli.

Police said the two later developed a relationship, after which Chandni and members of her family allegedly influenced him to convert to Islam.

The FIR alleges that Ayush was taken to Delhi in 2023, where he converted to Islam and adopted the name Mohammad Ali. It also claims that a nikah ceremony was performed in Delhi.

However, police have said they have not recovered any marriage certificate during the investigation.

Investigators have also claimed that after the conversion, Ayush began following Islamic religious practices, including offering five daily prayers, growing a beard, and changing his style of dress.

Devaraj Malik has alleged that the conversion was part of a larger conspiracy to gain control of the family’s property, which he claims is worth several crores of rupees.

–IANS

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