UP Governor Orders Anti-Conversion Cells In Medical And Dental Colleges

Lucknow :  Following high-level intervention from the Chancellor’s office, all medical and dental colleges across Uttar Pradesh have been strictly directed to establish dedicated Religious Conversion Prevention Cells (Dharmantaran Roktham Cells). The decision aims to increase surveillance and monitor suspicious activities inside state-run and affiliated medical campuses.

The administrative mandate was issued by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University (ABVMU) following a formal directive from Uttar Pradesh Governor and Chancellor Anandiben Patel. A letter from the Governor's special officer on duty, Dr. Sudhir M. Bobde, prompted the university registrar to immediately instruct all affiliated medical and dental institutions to constitute these localized anti-conversion cells.

According to institutional sources, the sharp policy response was triggered by two prominent cases that sparked intense state-level investigation. The first involved an alleged targeted religious conversion case involving a resident doctor at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU). The second followed an ongoing investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a 21-year-old daughter of a Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) employee, which led to a kidnapping and forced-conversion FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Additionally, a wider probe by the UP Special Task Force (STF) has been looking into organized white-collar radicalization networks within educational campuses.

The newly proposed anti-conversion units will be tasked with running comprehensive awareness campaigns informing medical students, doctors, and nursing staff about their legal rights and the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. The institutions must establish rapid action protocols to process any conversion-related harassment or coercion complaints transparently. Leading institutes, including KGMU, have confirmed that their internal oversight cells are already active, and compliance reports from all other state medical centers are expected to be submitted to the Governor's desk promptly.