On Saturday, July 30, the Azamgarh police in Uttar Pradesh busted a conversion racket by arresting six women who were attempting to convert vulnerable villagers to Christianity. According to reports, the racket was being carried out under the guise of a birthday party.
In what transpired, the main accused Indrakala, who was living in a rented house in the Vanchit Basti Vishnu Nagar ward of Maharajganj police station in Azamgarh with her husband, had gathered over 100 villagers from hers and the neighbouring villages under the pretext of celebrating her son’s birthday. The invitees, as per reports, were mainly the women of the villages.
During the program, Indrakala her aides started distributing sweets to the villagers, but before that, they handed over pamphlets to the villagers and forced them to read it and adopt Christianity before they could get to eat the sweets.
The accused evangelists also tried to lure the villagers by offering them money. They also assured them that turning to Christianity would assist them to be rid of the possession of ghosts and spirits.
While the program was being carried out, some villagers informed about the same to some Bajrang Dal members who in turn intimated the local police about the same. The Azamgarh police immediately reached the spot and stopped the so-called birthday celebration. While many fled seeing the police, the police managed to nab the main accused Indrakala and her five accomplices, identified as Subhagi Devi, Sadhna, Samta, Anita and Sunita. They also seized a lot of religious books and pamphlets from the spot.
Speaking about the alleged conversion program, Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kumar said, “Sub Inspector Kamlesh Yadav of the Maharajganj police station was in the vicinity with other staff when he learned that some women are pushing impoverished villagers to convert their religion. They were also being threatened with dire consequences in case they resented or protested against the same. After receiving information, police went to the Dalit basti of Ward No-1 of Maharajganj Nagar Panchayat, where people were being enticed to convert under the guise of a birthday party. Six ladies were arrested on the scene and sent to jail. The police have initiated a detailed investigation into the case, added SP Siddharth Kumar.
