Photo: VOMC
Multiple Christians were recently arrested by authorities in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, resulting in charges of coercive religious conversions. In each case, allegations against the Christians by Hindu nationalist groups led to sudden police raids.
On February 22nd or 23rd (the exact date varies according to sourced reports), Pastor Vijay Singh and three other believers were arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli district. According to local press reports, the Christians were accused of organizing "a big game of religious conversion" in which candy and pencils were allegedly given to children in an attempt to lure them into converting to Christianity.
In a related incident, police also raided the residence of Pastor Anil in a different village of Raebareli district, but the church leader was not home at the time. Unable to find the pastor, the authorities instead detained his son before later releasing him. On the afternoon of February 25th, Pastor Anil was located and subsequently arrested by police. Thankfully, the church leader was granted bail that same evening.
A similar raid occurred in Hargaon, a village in the district of Sitapur, when police invaded a worship gathering on February 23rd. During the incident, Pastor Surest Chand and his wife Nutan Kumari were arrested, along with four other worshippers. The believers were charged with conducting "unlawful religious conversions" in what local reporters described as "a big case." The Christians were accused of luring people to their faith with money and possessions. According to eyewitnesses, various religious materials – including Bibles – were seized as evidence of alleged conversion activities. Though the Christians were taken into custody, some have since been released on bail.
Anti-conversion laws are frequently used in several Indian states to intimidate followers of Jesus and shut down unwanted Christian activities. Often, the accusations have no factual basis. For more details on the persecution of Christians in India, go to our country report.
- Pray that God will work powerfully within the hearts and minds of India's authorities so that each one of these recently detained believers will be justly declared innocent.
- May our Christian brothers and sisters who continue to be held in custody tangibly sense the reassuring presence and empowerment of God's Holy Spirit.
- Ask the Lord to also minister His peace, protection and comfort to the accused believers' family members as they cope with this time of uncertainty and fear.
- Additionally, pray that the accusers would be convicted of their wrongful allegations and, as a result, come to a point of repentance and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Population
