Police in India's Uttar Pradesh (UP) state have arrested a Muslim man for allegedly trying to convert a Hindu woman to Islam, Indian media reported.
He is the first to be arrested under a new anti-conversion law that targets "love jihad" - a term used by radical Hindu groups to accuse Muslim men of converting Hindu women by marriage.
Police in UP's Bareilly district confirmed the arrest on Twitter on Wednesday, five days after promulgating the ordinance.
The woman's father told the BBC said that he filed the complaint as the man "put pressure" on his daughter to convert by threatening her. The woman was reportedly in a relationship with the man but got married to someone else earlier this year.
Police say that the woman's family had filed a kidnapping case against the accused a year ago but the case was closed after she was found and denied the charge.
On the other hand, the man claimed himself innocent by saying he had "no link with the woman." He was sent to 14 days of judicial custody after his arrest.
The new law carries a jail term of up to 10 years and offences under it are non-bailable.
What is the 'love jihad' law?
Uttar Pradesh became the first state to pass a law against "forced" or "fraudulent" religious conversions In November.
Another four states - Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Assam - are also planning to bring in laws against "love jihad". All of these states are governed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who have been accused of normalizing anti-Muslim sentiment.
Critics have pledged their concern about such laws by calling it Islamophobic, regressive and offensive and feared that it will lead to misuse and harassment, since "love jihad" has always been seen as a term used radical Hindu groups. It is not a term officially recognized by Indian law.
In October, a popular jewelry brand withdrew an advertisement featuring an interfaith couple after right-wing radical groups accused them of promoting "love jihad."
And then in November, authorities accused Netflix pointing to a scene in the television series, ‘A Suitable Boy’, where a Hindu woman and a Muslim man kiss at a temple.
Madhya Pradesh's Home Minister, Narottam Mishra, said it hurt "religious sentiments" and directed officials to look into legal action against the producer and director of the series.
Critics accused BJP for religious polarization, which has increased since Prime Minister Narendra Modi first swept into power in 2014. Hindu-Muslim marriages have long attracted censure in India but the attachment of a deeper, sinister motive to them is a recent phenomenon.
