A massive protest erupted outside Jammu and Kashmir House in the diplomatic sector of New Delhi, on Monday after it was alleged that two Sikh women were abducted and forcibly converted to Islam in India's Jammu and Kashmir.
According to reports, a Sikh woman from Budgam district in Jammu and Kashmir was kidnapped and forced at gunpoint to convert to Islam. According to the Union Territory Police, the woman has been handed over to her family and the accused 29-year-old man (whose name was not revealed by the police), has been arrested.
The second case of another 18-year old mentally unstable girl, Manmeet Kaur, from Srinagar - Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital - was abducted on 21 June by a 62-year-old man.
On 26 June, Kaur was brought to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court along with the old man's family. By evening, the court declared their marriage valid and put the girl in the old man's custody. This led to massive anger among the Sikh community and they protested outside the court, as they were not allowed to enter it. Kaur still lives with the old man's family.
On Sunday, the Sikh community leaders from Delhi and Indian state Punjab protested in Srinagar.
"I urge the government to take stern action against forced conversions and request local leaders of Srinagar and religious leaders to support Sikh daughters," Manjinder Singh Sirsa, president of Delhi Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, told reporters.
Omar Abdullah, a former state chief of Jammu and Kashmir, said necessary punishment should be given to the culprits.
Sikh Demanded For Implementation Of Anti-Conversion Law
Sirsa met Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday. The Lieutenant-Governor gave the assurance that Sikh demands for a Minority Commission would be made a priority in his next meeting with the federal government in Delhi. The delegation of Sikhs also demanded an anti-conversion law to protect Sikhs girls in Kashmir.