ICC Note: Three Christians are behind bars, denied bail after authorities in Madhya Pradesh arrested them on suspicion of “forcibly converting” three Hindus. The claim alleges that the accused offered the Hindus jobs as a carrot to convert to Christianity. They’ve been charged under Inidia’s ant-conversion law 295 A and the state’s Freedom of Religion Act, which prosecute “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings.” Local Christian leaders in Madhya Pradesh have condemned the arrests, calling the charges false. India’s anti-conversion laws create a hypocritical machine in practice, which penalizes Christian evangelism while leaving forcible re-conversion to Hinduism legal and protected.

By Nirmala Carvalho

05/24/16, Satna, India (AsiaNews) – Rev V A Anthony, of the Brethren Assembly Church, his wife Prabha and another woman were taken into custody as they returned from Aber, where they go every week to lead prayers. They were jailed after their demand for bail was turned down.

Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), slammed the arrests. He told AsiaNews that the three Christians are innocent people “who were detained based on false allegations of forced conversions.”

The three accused were arrested yesterday but the fact that is alleged goes back to two weeks ago. Their accusers are Rambhan Adivasis, Hemraj Varma and Prashant Gupta, all residents in the village of Goraiya.

The trio filed a complaint in which they claim that the Christians asked them to convert by promising them a secure job. The three men changed their mind after the Christians ripped up the image of Hindu deities. According to local police, this “offended their religious feelings”.

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