Muslim teenager imprisoned for 10 days in India for 'walking Hindu girl home' at night

• Muslim teenager imprisoned for 10 days
• Teenagers were walking home from friend's birthday party when mob attacked

A Muslim teenager has been detained by police for 10 days in the Indian city of Bijnor for "walking a Hindu girl home" one night after attending a friend's birthday party.

According to Indian media reports, the teenagers were walking through a street in Nasirpur village after attending a friend's birthday party when locals spotted them and attacked the Muslim youth. He was then handed over to the police. 

A video of the incident shows a mob armed with rods and sticks beating up the Muslim teenager. Initially, the accusations started with "theft" and turned into "love jihad". 

Read more: First Indian Muslim man arrested under 'love-jihad' law

The girl's father filed a complaint saying that the boy was trying to run away with her to marry and convert her. The girl, however, denies it. "He was not trying to convert me."

“The accused was booked under Sections 363 (kidnapping) and 366 (abduction to compel marriage) of the IPC, Section 18 of the Pocso Act (sexual harassment), Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST Act (offence carrying 10 years’ jail term against a member of the SC or ST community), and sections 3 (conversion by fraud, misrepresentation, coercion, allurement or marriage) and 5(1) (punishment for forced conversion) of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance,” police said.

Read more: India's UP state green-lights 'Love Jihad' law

Earlier this year, the Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) government in India's Uttar Pradesh state approved a stringent law to deal with religious conversions for the sake of marriage.

The approval for the ordinance was given at a state cabinet meeting chaired by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath - who had promised a fight against "Love Jihad" in his election campaign.

The term "love jihad", unrecognised by the Indian legal system, was coined to refer to a non-existent system under which Hindu women were 'forcibly' converted to marry Muslim men. 

Under the new law, punishments include jail term of between one to five years and fine worth INR15,000. In case a woman is a minor or belongs to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, the imprisonment will range from three to 10 years and fine increases to INRA25,000.

If an individual wants to convert to any other religion before marriage, they will need to take permission from a district magistrate two months before the wedding date. If anyone wants to change religion after marriage, then he or she “can do so.”