On Friday (5th July), Police in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur detained 28 people, including 20 women, from a house on a complaint that an organised forced religious conversion event was taking place at the ‘religious congregation’. It is reported that around 100 people were lured to attend the religious congregation in the house which was being held under the banner of the Church foundation.
After receiving information about the religious conversion event, the Mathura gate police reached the spot and detained 28 people, including 20 women.
DSP Sunil Sharma said, “A complaint was received that people had gathered at a house in RIICO area for religious conversion following which some people have been detained and are being questioned. The matter is being further investigated.”
According to reports, the incident unfolded in a housing board colony in the Mathura Gate police station area. According to the VHP members, Christian missionaries were running the center to convert Hindus. They had lured the Hindus by promising to give them Rs 500 to attend the event and allegedly offered Rs 10,000 every month for converting to Christianity. Later, Police also reached the spot and took the people into custody.
According to media reports, Niranjan Singh, son of Lakshman Singh, resident of Bhavanpura, STC Housing Board filed a report at Mathura Gate Police Station.
In the complaint, he stated that on 5th July at around 11 am, Rabindra Kumar, his wife, and others were doing Changai Sabha in a house. About 100 men, women, and children participated in the gathering. It is alleged that these people were doing religious conversion of people from the lower economic strata who were lured to the event. The accused also offered them money saying that those who convert to Christianity will be given a bonus of Rs 10,000 every month.
The people present inside the house said that they were given Rs 500 to attend the event. As per reports, the house belongs to Ravi Kumar, who was evicted from his native village because he insulted Hindu gods and goddesses. It is alleged that he threw the pictures of the Hindu deities into a drain.
It is further alleged that he has been living here for the last 4 years and doing proselytization. Meanwhile, among those arrested, one person identified himself as Alwar CMHO’s brother.
Speaking to reporters, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) district president Lakhan Singh said that information was received that religious conversion was going on in a house in the Mathura Gate police station area. He added that about 100 people had gathered at the congregation.
He added that the Christian missionaries were luring Hindus to convert their religion into Christianity. He further said that when they sent the VHP member to the house, a woman claimed that they were running a library there, but a religious conversion event was going on. The team then informed the Police about the incident and demanded action in this matter.
Lakhan Singh added that earlier a case of forced conversion also came to light from Sonar Haveli. The administration had formed an SIT team to investigate the case but no action has been taken so far.
