Source: www.persecution.org
Date: August 2, 2024
India (International Christian Concern) — A missionary pastor who had recently sought permission to reopen his church in Northern India’s Uttar Pradesh (UP) state was promptly arrested, along with a member of his church, on July 29 on false charges of forceful conversions.
Instead of looking into Pastor Shyam’s request, the government official who met with him, a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), insulted the pastor and called the police on him and the man with him.
Following the pastor’s arrest under the draconian UP Anti-conversion Act, a local Hindu nationalist helped create a false narrative about the pastor. A local news website published a story about how the right-wing activist was able to stop the pastor and his colleague as they allegedly attempted unlawful religious conversions in a certain part of the town.
Pastor Shyam lives in a small town in the Ayodhya division of UP. Authorities closed his church building in 2023 after Hindu groups objected to the presence of Christian worship in the area.
Nearly a year later, Pastor Shyam visited the police station and sought permission to reopen his church facility. Police told him he needed to meet with the SDM, who called the police and local Hindu nationalists. The police promptly arrested both the pastor and the church member.
Meanwhile, a local news website reported on Pastor Shyam’s arrest and spun an entirely different story.
The false story published about the pastor claimed that he engaged in indiscriminate religious conversions by luring Hindus with money and promises of housing.
The website said that Pandey Dubey, coordinator of a Hindu nationalist group, filed the complaint that prompted police to register a case against Pastor Shyam and his friend under sections 3 and 5 (1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act 2021 and section 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), India’s official criminal code.
Dubey’s complaint alleged Pastor Shyam stopped him, five of his friends, and another person in a public place and told them that if they converted from Hinduism and accepted Jesus, they would receive INR 10,000, or roughly USD 120, and they would get free housing.
Dubey also alleged that while he and his friends were about to convert to Christianity, other people saw them and grew upset, claiming that the pastor and his friend had tried to convert others to Christianity a week earlier but were chased away.
“On hearing this,” Dubey said, “I refused to take the oath, and they abused me and ran away.”
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for all unjust charges against these men to be dropped. Pray for their church to be reopened soon. Pray for equal treatment of religious minorities in India.