[ Pisi Zauing ]
CHANGLANG, 24 Nov: Changlang Deputy Commissioner Sunny K Singh issued a public notice on 20 November, saying that Section 3 of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA), 1978, states that “No person shall convert or attempt to convert, either directly or otherwise, any person from one religious faith by the use of force or by inducement or by any fraudulent means, and nor shall any person abet any such conversion.”
In the widely circulated public notice, the DC cited the rules enacted by the state government under various sections of the APFRA, as published vide Government Gazette Extraordinary Part 3, Vol 2, dated 13 November, 1978.
The public notice was issued in response to reports of conversion doing the rounds.
Section 4 states: “Any person contravening the provisions contained in Section 3 shall, without prejudice to any civil liability, be punishable with imprisonment to the extent of two years and fine up to Rs 10,000.”
The DC also referred to Sub-sections 1 and 2 of Section 5, which states that “Whosoever converts any person from one religious faith to any other faiths, either by performing himself the ceremony necessary for such conversion as a religious priest, or by directly or indirectly taking part in such ceremony shall within such period after the ceremony as may be prescribed,
send an intimation to the deputy commissioner of the district to which the person converted belongs, of the fact of such conversion in such form as may be prescribed.”
“If any person falls without sufficient cause to comply with the provisions contained in Sub-section (1), he/she shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with fine, which may extend to Rs 1,000, or both,” the notice read.
