The Police has booked Pastor Dipender Prakash under section 151 of the CrPC (Arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offence) and arrested him.
He was also beaten up by Bajrang Dal activists inside Court premises while trying to convert 11 Hindus to Christianity when he reached the local court in Meerut to submit an affidavit on behalf of the men who wanted to convert.
“Around 11 individuals wished to convert to Christianity, and Dipender Prakash had come to Sardhana to get their affidavits notarized when Bajrang Dal activists caught him. He was brought here and we booked him under CRPC section 151 and sent him to jail,” said Dharmender Singh Rathore, station house officer (SHO) of Sardhana police station. It is being reported that the arrested pastor is a resident of Muzaffarnagar.
We had reported earlier how the forced conversion factory works. In February this year, a Christian pastor and his associates were thrashed in Bihar after allegations were made that they were indulging in proselytizing. In December last year, a couple was arrested in Andhra Pradesh for allegedly engaging in the conversion of tribal children. In the same month, UP Police had arrested 7 Christian missionaries after it was alleged that they were carrying out forced conversions of villagers. Only a few days later, Police had arrested one Catholic priest and detained 40 others for forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity. Slum dwellers in Agra had even alleged that they were drugged by missionaries who were trying to lure them into converting to Christianity with promises of a house, better lifestyle and education for their children. In another instance, Christian missionaries had assaulted an aged tribal man for refusing to convert to Christianity.