Gujarat: Christian conversion racket busted in Dwarka; three, including a Nepali couple, arrested

An incident of Christian conversion has come to light in Jamkhambhaliya in the Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat. An FIR was registered by the police against three individuals, including a couple, in connection with the evangelical activities after some Hindu organisations informed them about it. The incident took place Jamkhambhaliya’s Shakti Nagar on 28th September.

All three accused, identified as Deepak Raghuveersingh Gurusingh Vishwakarma, Deepaben Deepakbhai Vishwakarma, and Mukesh Subhashbhai Ajnar, have been arrested. Deepak Raghuveersingh Gurusingh Vishwakarma and Deepaben Deepakbhai Vishwakarma are husband and wife, and are originally from Nepal, while Mukesh Subhashbhai Ajnar is a native of Madhya Pradesh.

According to media reports, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) member informed the VHP District Vice President, Kiranben, that some Christian conversion activities were taking place in a residential building located behind the Shrinathji School in Shakti Nagar. The VHP member said that people were being lured with money to convert to Christianity. Based on this information, the VHP Vice President and her husband Vijay Kumar Mansukhlal Kataria informed Praveen Singh Kanchwana, the VHP’s Saurashtra Province Dharmacharya Sampark Pramukh, about the matter.

The same day, around 11:45 AM, Kiranben and other VHP members arrived at the scene and saw that around 25 to 30 Hindus, including women, had gathered there. The three accused were preaching to them about Jesus Christ and were luring them with money to change their religion. In a swift action, the police registered the FIR and arrested the accused the same day.

The FIR, accessed by OpIndia, states that all the people gathered there were Hindus who were invited by the accused to attend the Christian prayer. Many of these people are labourers from various parts of Madhya Pradesh, including Alirajpur, Dhar, and Jhabua districts, and are currently residing in the nearby villages of Jamkhambhaliya.

The Khambhalia police have registered a case against the three accused under Section 4 of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, and Section 54 of the BNS.