The Madhya Pradesh Police on Tuesday, July 5, arrested two persons for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and luring them to convert their religion to Christianity. The duo, identified as Ganesh Rajunkar and Johny, were booked under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code and have been sent to jail.
According to a Dainik Bhasker report, the duo from Indore was charged under the law after one of the women staying in the neighbourhood of the accused complained to the police that she and her family were lured and forced to convert her religion to Christianity.
The woman identified as Ramdevi Kurmi said that she was told that all her monetary liabilities would be paid off if she converted her and her family’s religion to Christianity. She was also told by the accused that she would get money for her children’s education and their wedding in future.
“We all are neighbours. Ganesh one day came home while I was performing puja of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. He insulted the deities and said that there was no benefit in worshipping ‘stones’ and that I should worship Jesus. I yelled at him at and drove him off my house,” the complainant said.
Later, as per the complaint, the accused Ganesh and his wife again arrived at Kurmi’s home and lured her for money. The duo said that all the monetary liabilities of the women would be paid off. Also, she was told that her children’s education and wedding expenses would be taken care of. Kurmi then called other people from her community for help and then informed the police about the incident.
On June 30, Kurmi said that accused Johny and his wife had invited her for a ‘prayer meet’ to which she had refused to join. However, the duo then insulted the Hindu deities and used derogatory language for the Hindu culture. Ramdevi Kurmi and her husband Manoj Kurmi also sought help from the Hindu organizations who helped the couple to file a police complaint.
As per the reports, one of the accused, Ganesh, used to work in a snack-making factory but was expelled after the workers complained against him. The workers complained that the accused lured them for money and forced them to convert their religion to Christianity. Later Ganesh joined somewhere as a domestic help.
Kurmi and her husband stated that Ganesh and his wife conducted weekly prayer meetings and invited wage and factory workers to them. He used to impose loud volume speakers and conduct prayer meetings, in which he also used to offer money to the attendees.
Notably, Ganesh and Johny are said to be good friends and Ganesh was born as a Hindu. He had recently converted his religion to Christianity. Kurmi said the chaos was also reported from Ganesh’s house in 2020 when his wife passed away during the Covid period. “He had told his children that their mother had gone to Jesus. Then he and his mother engaged in a wordy fight over the cremation of the deceased woman. Ganesh wanted his wife to be cremated the Christian way however his mother wanted him to follow the Hindu process of cremation. Eventually, the woman was cremated as per Hindu rituals,” Kurmi was quoted as saying.
The accused Ganesh Rajunkar and Johny have been booked under section 295A of the IPC and also they have been sent to jail. The police are said to have recovered a photo of Jesus and some Christian reference material from Ganesh’s home. Further investigations into the case are underway.
