Mumbai: The Meghwadi police station in Jogeshwari East has registered the first FIR in Maharashtra under the newly enacted Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026, booking 24-year-old Faiz Akbar Khan under Section 9(1) of the Act over an alleged religious conversion on the pretext of marriage, The Voice of Malegaon and news agency IANS reported on Tuesday.

Source: The Voice of Malegaon

According to the police, the complaint was filed by Nilesha Nilesh Rane (50), the mother of a 22-year-old woman from the Amina Nagar area of Jogeshwari East. She has alleged that Khan befriended her daughter and persuaded her to convert from Hinduism to Islam by assuring her that he would marry her and provide financial support, IANS reported, citing officials. These are allegations in the FIR; they have not been established.

Source: IANS via Fresh Headline

The case has been registered as FIR No. 0587/2026 at Meghwadi Police Station, and police said an investigation has been initiated to examine the allegations and establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged conversion and marriage.

The sequence in the complaint runs back to October 18, when the woman left home for work and did not return; her mother then lodged a kidnapping complaint at Virar police station under Section 140(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. On October 20, the woman informed her mother that she had married Khan and sent a court marriage certificate; The Voice of Malegaon reported that she had also told police at the time that she married of her own free will and showed them her marriage certificate, on which her name was recorded as Shravani Nilesh Rane.

The matter took a further turn on October 24, when, according to the complaint, Khan sent a wedding invitation card to the WhatsApp number of the woman's brother. The invitation carried the names “Mohammad Faiz weds Shravani (Ayesha)” and mentioned November 6, 2026 as the wedding date. Citing the invitation, the mother alleged that her daughter had been subjected to religious conversion under the pretext of marriage and approached the police.

The Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026 criminalises conversion from one religion to another through allurement, coercion, deceit or force, and came into force on August 28, 2026. Under Section 9(1), a first offence carries imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine of one lakh rupees. The Act also allows blood and close relatives to file an FIR on behalf of the alleged victim, and requires a person converting voluntarily to give 60 days' advance notice to the district magistrate.

Whether an arrest has been made was not confirmed in the reports: The Voice of Malegaon said it sought the current status of the case from Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade, who did not provide details. Police say the investigation is continuing and further details are awaited.