Police arrest 7 Indian Christians for conversion on Republic Day

Police in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh arrested seven Christians in two separate cases following attacks by Hindu hardliners who accused of them of religious conversion on Republic Day on Jan. 26.

Hardline Hindu group, Bajrang Dal (Brigade of Lord Hanuman), attacked Christians after a Sunday prayer service in Mowa, a town near the state capital Raipur, Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh’s Christian Forum told UCA News on Jan. 27.

They accused the Christians of illegal religious conversion, a common tactic to target Christians, he alleged.
The attack came when Christians were participating in a national flag raising ceremony after the prayer service, he said.

He also claimed that some Christians were injured and hospitalized, one remains in critical condition.

Bajrang Dal members also ransacked a house Church, and filed a complaint with police in Pandri police station who arrested three Christians, Pannalal said. They have been charged under the state’s anti-conversion law.

The local Christian community is shocked by these events as they were not even allowed to celebrate Republic Day, he added.

Hindu hardliners have targeted Christians in the state for years accusing them of luring and converting people of various faiths including Hindus. Christians have vehemently dismissed the claims as anti-Christian propaganda.
Earlier on Jan. 26, police arrested a pastor and three associates in Saruat, a village in Balrampur district after Hindus accused them of conversion. They were jailed.

During a raid on the pastor’s residence, police also confiscated Bibles and promotional leaflets, local media reports said.

Chhattisgarh state is governed by the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), which aims to make India a Hindu theocracy. The BJP has been in power at national level since 2014.

The state’s BJP government has proposed a new anti-conversion law to impose harsher punishments for religious conversion. It would criminalize conversions through abuse of power, coercion, undue influence, incitement, fraud, or through marriage.

Conversion through allurement is a punishable offence under the existing Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act 2003.

A New Delhi-based ecumenical body, the United Christian Forum (UCF), recorded 165 incidents of violence against Christians in the state last year.

The northern state of Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number with 209 out of a total of 834 incidents reported on the UCF helpline in 2024.

Christians in Chhattisgarh make up less than 2 percent of its estimated 30 million people.

This article was originally published on https://www.ucanews.com/news/police-arrest-7-indian-christians-for-conversion-on-republic-day/107706