On 26th January, Raipur and Balrampur in Chhattisgarh witnessed unrest over allegations of religious conversions. Hindu organisations and locals acted on tip-offs in both districts and uncovered ongoing Christian conversions happening in guise of prayer meetings. Reportedly, accused pastors had orchestrated conversions under the guise of prayer meetings. Three people were detained in Raipur, including a pastor, while four were arrested in Balrampur, and promotional materials were seized.
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Raipur incident – protests erupt over alleged conversions in Mitaan Vihar
Hindu groups, led by Bajrang Dal, learned about alleged forced conversions happening in Mitaan Vihar Colony in the Mowa area under the Pandri Police Station. They reached the house where the conversions were reportedly taking place under the guise of prayer meetings and classes and chanted slogans such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’. As the situation escalated, a heavy police force was deployed to maintain law and order.
Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Lakhan Patel, CSP Civil Lines, and SHOs of different police stations arrived at the scene with reinforcements. Ten individuals were removed from the house, including men, women, children, and a minor. Three individuals, identified as Kirti Kumar Keshwani, Maharathi Banjare, and Jeevan Lal Sahu, were detained by the police and later sent to jail.
An FIR has been registered under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nayay Sanhita (BNS) and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act. Hindu organisations have alleged that conversions have been happening in the area for a long time. They accused the pastor of influencing vulnerable individuals under the guise of prayer sessions.
Balrampur incident – alleged use of “healing meetings” for conversions
The second such incident happened in Saruat village of Wadrafnagar block in Balrampur district. Locals alleged that a pastor and his associates were luring villagers with promises of curing illnesses and financial benefits. Following the information received by the locals, police raided the house where the conversion sessions were taking place and arrested four individuals, including a pastor.
Police also seized large quantities of Bibles, promotional material and an ID card of the National Christian Association from the accused. According to the locals, the pastor organised “healing meetings” to gather people and then exploited their religious sentiments to facilitate conversions.
In both cases, police said that investigations are underway. The issue of religious conversions has again been brought into sharp focus in Chhattisgarh with these two incidents. In the past few years, the state has seen rampant cases of religious conversions with missionaries luring vulnerable communities, including tribals, to convert to Christianity.
So much so, even the rice allotted by the government had been routed to be used for conversion activities. In November 2024, OpIndia reported how rice distributed under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-introduced Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and the Chhattisgarh government’s Annapurna Scheme was being misused by Christian missionaries. According to media reports, missionaries have initiated a scheme called the “one handful of rice plan”, under which they collect rice from poor families. Each family member donates one handful of rice daily to the missionaries, which is then gathered in large quantities and sold in the open market at Rs 25-30 per kg. This practice is estimated to generate an annual income of over Rs 100 crore for the missionaries. Hindu organisations have demanded stricter enforcement to prevent such activities.
