In the Partapur area of Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh, the police uncovered a massive Christian conversion racket on 8th December. The police rescued nearly 50 Hindus from a ‘medical camp cum prayer meeting’ called Masihi Prathana Sabha in the Shankar Colony. In this case, Meerut Police has arrested the accused Vineet Pastor and his accomplices under the stringent Uttar Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act.
The police took action after activists of Hindu Raksha Dal and Bhartiya Kisan Manch reached the spot and found that the conversion of Hindus to Christianity was going on in the name of the camp. After that, a complaint was registered at the Kartapur Police Station by activist Sarvesh Upadhyay.
Subsequently, the police team arrived at the spot to verify the claims and found a makeshift church inside a rented house. Moreover, the police found around 50 Hindus carrying Bibles and partaking a Bible reading session headed by the accused pastor who himself is a convert from the Valmiki Hindu community. Vineet and his family are reported to have converted to Christianity nearly a decade ago and have been luring other Hindus to Christianity since then.
The police detained 15 people including Vinit, his wife Payal, cousins Pramod, Luv, Kunal, Satendra, Johnny Khekdi, Sheshnag, Anoin, Nitin, Sangeeta, Geeta and others. The FIR names Vineet Pastor as the main accused and states that he was organising such prayer meetings in various cities to lure Hindus into converting to Christianity by offering monetary benefits alongside miraculous cures for their diseases. According to locals, prayer meetings are held every Sunday at the house and are attended by a large number of people.
The accused pastor and his associates have been booked under Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act. The police noticed Christian symbols on the walls and banners reading “Christ Prayer House” and seized several documents indicating a systematic bid to convert Hindus to Christianity. Police also recovered registers and forms to be filled for conversion from the house.
The bank account records of the main accused Vineet Pastor are also being investigated. During interrogation, he has admitted to carrying out conversions.
As per reports, Vineet was a Dentist working at a hospital. Over a decade ago, he left the job and started a private clinic. But his practice was not doing well. During that time, he came into contact with a church through a friend. 10 years ago, he along with his wife converted to Christianity and got involved in a lucrative conversion racket. He started converting Hindus to Christianity, earning large amounts in exchange. He used his medical background to organise free medical camps and lure people into Christianity.
Vineet’s wife Payal, mother Geeta, brother Johnny and sister-in-law Sangeeta were his partners in the effort, along with other people. He was paid huge amounts by Christian organisations for his efforts and soon became a millionaire. Apart from the makeshift church, Vineet Pastor also organised ‘medical camps’ at various places.
