Pastor, three others held for illegal religious conversions
The police have lodged FIR under appropriate sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021
Four persons, including a pastor from Uttarakhand, were arrested for allegedly converting people by luring them on pretext of giving benefits, in a Moradabad village on Saturday, said senior police officials here on Sunday.
The police have lodged FIR under appropriate sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 on intervention of activists of two Hindu outfits, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal.
Thakurdwara circle officer Rajesh Kumar informed the media persons that the incident happened in Rammanawala village under Thakurdwara police station on Friday night when some people were holding a Christianity religious congregation. He said the activists of the two Hindu outfits intervened and informed the police alleging forced religious conversion through allurement.
Moradabad VHP district unit general secretary Pankaj Singh Pal lodged an FIR against four people including one Kuldeep, who claimed to be a pastor of Uddhamsinghnagar, Uttarakhand, and three local villagers including two brothers Jaipal and Amarjeet, and one Mukesh. He mentioned in the FIR that the trio often called pastors from outside and organised religious congregation, and they have converted as many as 60 people of 15 Hindu families to Christianity and trying to do the same with other villagers.
He alleged in the FIR that they give people money as well as fridge, television, bicycle, motorcycle and sewing machines for converting to Christianity. He said people instrumental in getting others converted are given ₹25,000 while the pastor, who convert them gets ₹35,000 on each conversion.
The CO said the FIR under BNS sections 351(2) for insulting and 351(3) for criminal intimidation as well as sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 was lodged with Thakurdwara police station on Saturday. He said further investigation in the matter was underway.