ICC Note: Police in India’s Uttar Pradesh state have charged 271 Christians with forced conversions based on baseless accusations by Hindu radicals. Radicals in India often use false criminal accusations to harass Christians, especially pastors. Due to police bias, these often obviously false accusations are accepted and lead to lengthy legal battles.
09/12/2018 India (UCAN) – Police in India’s Uttar Pradesh state have charged more than 270 Christians with “spreading lies about Hinduism and drugging people to try and convert them to Christianity.”
Christians in Jaunpur district said on Sept. 10 that the move showed religious bias and was an attempt to terrorize Christians.
Police in the district filed the charges against 271 Christians of a Pentecostal church last week after being directed to do so by a local court.
The court directive followed a complaint lodged by activist group Hindu Jagran Manch that Christians were propagating misinformation about the Hindu religion and attempting to convert people during Sunday services.
Pastors Durga Prasad Yadav, Kirit Rai and Jitendra Ram were named on the charge sheet while the others were not identified.
The Hindu group said it went to court after the Christians refused to stop conducting Sunday prayer services despite repeated warnings.
The group’s lawyer, Brijesh Singh, told the court that for the last few years the Christians had been urging people in surrounding districts to come to their church in the village of Bhundly and attend prayer services.
“After prayers every Sunday and Tuesday, the priests used to tell lies about the Hindu religion and convince people to embrace Christianity. They also used to give prohibited medicine and drugs to visitors and convert them while they were under their influence,” the Indian Express newspaper quoted Singh as telling the court.
Local pastor A. Anil told ucanews.com that the allegations were “absolutely false and baseless.”
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