PRAYAGRAJ, May 7 -- The Allahabad high court granted anticipatory bail to a girl who, along with four others, has been accused of brainwashing a minor classmate, forcing her to wear a 'burqa' and compelling her to convert to Islam. Justice Avnish Saxena, by an order dated May 4, allowed bail plea of one Malishka while observing that apart from the victim's statement, there was nothing on record to establish her involvement in the alleged crime. Counsel for the accused submitted that the applicant was studying in the school prior to the victim's admission. It was contended that there is no other report of the applicant pressuring any other girl to change her religion. State government counsel opposed the prayer for anticipatory bail by submitting that a specific statement of the victim was recorded under Sections 180 and 183 of the BNSS, which showed that she was being brainwashed and pressured to change her religion. To recall, an FIR was lodged by the brother of the alleged victim, a Class 12 student in Moradabad. He alleged that his sister was being pressured by five classmates at a local tuition centre to wear a veil (burqa) and accept Islam. The FIR dated January 22, 2026, was lodged at Bilari police station in Moradabad under Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, according to the HC order. In her statements recorded under Sections 180 and 183 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita, the victim referred to a December 2025 incident in which the girls allegedly brought a veil and made her wear it. She had further alleged that her classmates would bring non-vegetarian food and try to persuade her to consume it, even when she refused meat. She also claimed that one of them influenced her to the extent that she felt unable to think independently. According to her, they repeatedly told her that their religion was superior and that wearing a burqa would give her greater freedom of movement....