On 5th April, Jaunpur police busted a Christian conversion racket in Babura village under Badlapur police station area of district Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh. The FIR in the matter has been registered on the complaint of a Hindu organisation. According to media reports, Hindu activists learned about the ‘prayer meeting’ happening in Babura village aiming to convert innocent Hindus to Christianity.
They approached police and filed a complaint. Police swung into action and raided the location where the prayer meeting was happening. Hindu activists stated that the accused were persuading people to adopt Christianity through threats and inducements. Several individuals were detained for questioning. OpIndia accessed the FIR registered in the case.
‘Convert or continue to suffer, and live in poverty’ – What the FIR says
The FIR in the matter has been registered on the complaint of Satya Prakash, convener of Bajrang Dal, Jaunpur, under Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act and Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), against Rajesh Gautam alias Sonu Gautam, Vinod Yadav alias Mindu, Nisha, Manju Gautam, Sheela Devi, Pramod, Vikas Maurya, Vinod Yadav alias Mindu, Pramod Maurya, and Vikas Maurya.
According to Satya Prakash, his friend Pramod has been suffering from illness for a long time. He consulted several doctors but did not get relief. Pramod met Rajesh Gautam, one of the accused in the case, at the hospital.
During the conversation, Pramod told Rajesh about his illness. Rajesh stated that a Jesus prayer meeting is held at his house every Sunday, which is conducted by his brother Harikesh Gautam and their friend Vinod Yadav. He asked Pramod to attend the meeting and claimed that Jesus would cure all his ailments.
Pramod told Satya Prakash about it, suspecting illegal religious conversions happening at Rajesh’s house. On 5th April, Satya Prakash went with Pramod to Rajesh’s house and saw several men and women present in a room.
Satya Prakash added that Vinod Yadav alias Mintu was holding a Bible and delivering a sermon. He was urging people to adopt Christianity. During the sermon, he threatened those who did not accept Christianity and claimed that anyone not taking refuge in Jesus would remain troubled and continue to suffer from misery and poverty.
Inducements were also being offered during the sermon. Rajesh Gautam alias Sonu, his wife Nisha, his sister in law Manju Gautam, Sheela Devi, and Pramod, son of Ram Achhaivar Maurya, and Vikas Maurya were supporting Vinod Yadav alias Mintu.
When Satya Prakash was fully convinced that the accused were trying to convert Hindus, he stepped out and called the police. As the police arrived, Vinod fled the scene and left his bike at the location. Two of his associates, Pramod and Vikas also fled the scene.
OpIndia spoke to Satya Prakash. He said, “There have been several such cases in the past where marginalised and poor Hindus were being lured to convert to Christianity”. He added that Hindu organisations, including Bajrang Dal, are working on a war footing against such conversion rackets. He added, “The biggest mistake they made was that they approached one of my friends and got caught”. He added that though the main accused had fled the scene, he was later caught by the police.
According to Station House Officer Shesh Kumar Shukla, Mintu Yadav fled with Pramod and Vikas Maurya, leaving behind his Bullet motorcycle and a Bible. Search operations for all accused are underway.
