The Uttar Pradesh government has taken strong actions to clamp down on the menace of forced conversions in the rural areas of the State. The police have registered 7 different cases and booked 31 people for forcibly converting victims to Christianity in the last 30 days.
As per a report by The Times of India (TOI), the said cases have been lodged under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 in the Rampur, Kanpur, Sitapur and Ambedkar Nagar districts of Uttar Pradesh. The police have booked 23 people alone in 3 different cases in Sitapur.
It has come to light that one of the accused in the forced conversions of people to Christianity in Sitapur, David Asthana, was reportedly in touch with foreign entities. Besides, the police have booked 6 people in 2 different cases in the Ambedkar Nagar district of the State.
According to the TOI report, one pastor was arrested for organising a mass conversion ceremony in Kanpur while another was arrested in Rampur for pulling off a similar ceremony in the Rampur district of Uttar Pradesh.
In total, the Uttar Pradesh police have booked 31 people in a span of a month, who are now remanded to judicial custody. All the cases are being probed by DSP rank officers.
While speaking about the matter to The Times of India, ADG (law and order) Prashant Kumar remarked, “We also ensure that no innocent person is harassed by the police.”
“All the cases in which charges of Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, have been slapped are being monitored at the headquarters level,” he added.
ADG Kumar informed that the accused had adopted illegal means such as inducement, and allurement to facilitate conversions to Christianity.
Allahabad High Court rejects anticipatory bail of man who converted 90 Hindus
Earlier this month, the Allahabad High Court rejected anticipatory bail to a man who was accused of enticing 90 Hindus to convert their religion to Christianity by promising them financial and other advantages. The bail appeal was filed by Bhanu Pratap Singh, and was denied by Justice Jyotsna Sharma’s bench.
According to the reports, the FIR, in this case, was registered by Himanshu Dixit who alleged that on April 15, 2022, around 90 Hindus had gathered at the Evangelical Church of India, Hariharganj, Fatehpur, with the intention of converting their religion to Christianity.
