Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Two people, including a church pastor, were arrested on Sunday for allegedly trying to convert more than 100 people in Nawabganj, Kanpur. Police claimed to have arrested the pastor and his associate while taking more than 100 people in buses to the neighboring district of Unnao for illegal religious conversion.
The arrested persons were identified as Simon William (pastor) and Deepak Morris. Both of them are residents of Kanpur. Colonelganj Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mahesh Kumar said that information was received about a gang allegedly carrying out illegal conversions to Christianity.
The ACP said that after receiving information, a police team led by senior officers reached Ganga Barrage, where police stopped two buses carrying more than 100 men and women. During interrogation, a man identified himself as Sanjay (45) and told the police that he and more than 100 others were being taken to a church in Unnao to forcibly convert to Christianity.
According to the officer, he was promised a job apart from financial assistance of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per month and medical assistance. The FIR states that after conversion, they were also asked to remove the idols of Hindu deities from their homes. The ACP said that an FIR has been registered in the matter under relevant sections of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021 and investigation is underway.
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Tags: Conversion, Uttar Pradesh Police
FIRST PUBLISHED: March 31, 2024, 23:24 IST