E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1 Page 38 Communication sent on 9 June 2005 143. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government the situation of evangelist Kiran Kurmar, aged 30, who was assaulted on 27 February 2005 by nine Hindu extremists belonging to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad while he was on his way to visit a Hindu man who had invited him for prayers in the Khurda district. They tied him up and threatened to throw him into the Chilika Lake. When the police arrived, they arrested him and charged him with preaching Christianity to Hindus in order to convert them, an activit y prohibited by the “Orissa Freedom of Religion Act” of 1967. Mr. Kumar was subjected to torture while in police custody. Reports further indicated that he was presented before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Banapur only on 1 March 2005. He was granted bail on 8 March 2005. Dasarathi Behera, the Hindu man that Mr. Kumar was visiting on the day of his arrest was also arrested and accused. He testified before the police that he believed in Jesus Christ without any fear or pressure induced by anyone, a testimony which should have absolved Mr. Kumar of any charges of “forced conversion”. Communication sent on 19 July 2005 144. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government the situation of Ms. Imrana, a 28-year-old resident of Charthawal, who was raped by her father-in-law, Ali Mohammad, at Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh. The Islamic panchayat (village council), referring to sharia provisions, subsequently asked her to abandon her husband. On 29 June 2005, the Deoband School of theology issued a fatwa stating that she could not return to her husband. Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, openly backed the clerics and called for acceptance of the fatwa. Communication sent on 29 August 2005 145. The Special Rapporteur was infor med that, following pre-election promises by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to reduce the number of conversions to Christianity, the government of Chattisgarh had prepared draft amendments to the provisions of the Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam (Freedom of Religion Act) with the aim of reducing the number of conversions of the local population to Christianity. Already the law currently in force allowed punishing persons who attempt to convert somebody "forcefully or fraudulently" by prison sentences for up to two years and a fine. The pending amendments foresaw imprisonment for up to four years and a tenfold increase in the amount of the fine. Moreover, the pending amendments required a person who wishes to convert to inform the local authorities 30 days in advance. 146. In a similar move, officials in the north-central state of Madhya Pradesh announced that their anti-conversion law would be amended to make the conversion of tribal people to Christianity more difficult following the publication of a report claiming large-scale conversions initiated by Christian missionaries. No details about the planned measures were known at the time of the communication, but already under the applicable law district officials had to be notified of conversions seven days in advance. It was feared that the amendments and the controversies surrounding them might have lead to increased tensions between the various religious groups.