“Headed out to preach here in Nepal and distribute New Testaments and tracts in the local language. Thank you for your prayers,” Daniel Stephan Courney posted on Facebook.
The controversy erupted in November 2024 after a formal complaint was filed against the church alleging that its operations were conducted without legal permission from government departments like the Panchayat Raj, Revenue, Police, and the Noise Pollution Control Board.
Activists from Bajrang Dal acted on a tip-off and arrived at the scene to identify that many Hindus from the Scheduled Caste community had joined the event. Further tensions escalated as the activists questioned why so many Hindus were forced to join the event in the name of Christian prayers.
The two women have been booked under Section 4 of the Odisha Freedom of Religion Act, 1967, and sections of the BNS, including Section 299, 3(5) and 351(2).
On the 16th of December, journalist Swati Goel Sharma published a thread on X, wherein she divulged the findings of her ground investigation from the Sewa Nagar colony in Ghaziabad. In a video shared by Sharma, one of the accused Ravi was seen trying to defend himself by saying his government document is proof that he is still a Hindu and was not involved in conversion activities.
According to the FIR registered at the Ramganj Police Station based on a Hindu man named Govind’s complaint, Om Prakash, Ramlal Kori and Sandeep Kori used to visit the Agresar village and lure Hindu Dalits to convert to Christianity by offering them money and other benefits.
The Supreme Court declares conversions for reservation benefits without genuine belief as "fraud on the Constitution," upholding the integrity of reservation policies in India.
The victim’s family said that Surabhi is brainwashed to such an extent that despite many efforts, she does not go to Hindu temples and remains in touch with Jehovah’s Witnesses group.
Christian conversions and Muslim infiltration endanger Jharkhand’s tribal identity. BJP focuses on Sarna Code and anti-infiltration laws, but deeper political and societal action is essential.