Another instance of religious conversion has emerged from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, in which Christian missionaries allegedly forced, lured and coerced vulnerable Hindus into conversion.
On Friday, October 28, Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut police filed an FIR against 9 accused under sections of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. The FIR was filed based on a complaint lodged by many Dalit Hindus living in the Mangatapuram colony, a slum in the Bhrampuri police station area in Meerut. The complainants alleged that some Christian evangelists residing in the same village had compelled as many as 400 of them to convert to Christianity.
FIR lodged against 9 people u/s of UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act for allegedly forcing a few people in Meerut to convert to Christianity&threatening them against going to Police.FIR states accused helped them during lockdown&encouraged them to visit Church
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) October 29, 2022
The names of the accused include Chabili alias Shiva, Binwa, Anil, Sardar, Nikku, Basant, Prema, Titli and Reena.
As per the FIR filed in the Brahmpuri police station in Meerut, the Christian evangelists took undue advantage of the lockdown imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lured the poor and vulnerable Hindus with financial aid and food to entrap them. They then gradually started brainwashing them to convert to Christianity.
When the vulnerable Hindus started falling into the trap, the evangelists began pressuring them to visit churches and remove idols of gods and goddesses from their homes. They threatened them not to participate in any Hindu rituals. Additionally, they pressurised the Hindus to change their names on their Aadhar cards.
The Hindu victims also revealed how recently, during Diwali, these Christian evangelists barged into their homes, tore down images of Hindu deities, and warned them against performing puja. They also threatened them with severe consequences if they expressed resentment or complained to anyone.
The issue came to light when some Hindu villagers approached BJP leader Deepak Sharma and told him about their plight. They briefed him about the entire plot devised by the Christian Missionaries to ensnare the poor and illiterate Hindus in the hamlet. Villagers alleged that the real motive behind the conversion racket was that the missionary wanted to grab the land owned by the Hindus in the village.
After learning that these evangelists had already forcefully converted 400 Hindu villagers, the BJP leader went to the SP office with the victims to file a formal complaint against these missionaries, who were using various inculturation methods as bait to fool the village’s gullible Hindu population.
Speaking on the matter, SP Piyush Singh said, “On Friday, some people reached our office and gave an application. It is alleged that people of other religions want to forcibly convert the religions of the people of the village. Instructions have been given to take action by registering an FIR against the accused. The matter will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken.”
The entire religious conversion racket, according to a report in the Hindi newspaper Jagran, was orchestrated by a pastor based in Delhi. According to the media report, pastor Mahesh, with the help of his local aide Anil, provided funds for the marriage and education of many underprivileged Hindus in the area. Pastor Mahesh also married off the daughters of Mangatapuram Hindu villagers to youths from the Christian community.
Moreover, during the lockdown imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, the pastor gave the villagers food packages and money. In the middle of a financial crisis, the need for medical treatment and two square meals forced these economically deprived Hindu villagers into the trap of the preacher, who subsequently brainwashed these victims to adopt Christianity.
When the situation was brought to light, the police team arrived in the village and saw a temporary church that had unexpectedly sprung up in the neighbourhood. During their investigation of the church, the police discovered numerous records with the identities of all those who had been forcefully converted to Christianity. The manner in which funds are provided to these vulnerable victims was also mentioned in these records. The documents also stated that out of the total 550 people living in Mangatapuram Colony more than 400 people have been converted.
After obtaining the evidence, the SSP filed an FIR at the Brahmapuri police station under sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 and launched a search operation to nab Anil and Mahesh Pastor.
As words spread, members of the Hindu organization Hindu Jagran Manch under the leadership of their former Metropolitan President, Sachin Sirohi, also reached the police station and demanded prompt action against the evangelists.
