They were celebrating the birthday of one of their children when neighbors called the police. The agents arrested the Christians after noticing that they possessed religious texts. Father Vineet Pereira: “The problem is the situation of polarization that has been created in the community.” They rejected the first request for release on bail.
Lucknow () – Police in Uttar Pradesh have arrested six women for allegedly attempting religious conversion during a birthday party. The events occurred in Maharajganj, in the Azamgarh district. During the procedure, the agents seized some religious texts. At the moment the women are in the Azamgarh district jail.
According to a first reconstruction, one of the women, Indrakala, from Pipri village in Kaptanganj, had organized a birthday party for her son on July 31, to which several families from the area had been invited. Some neighbors reported the meeting to the police stating that it was for the purpose of carrying out forced conversions. The officers found Christian books and documents and arrested six women: Indrakala, Subhagi Devi, Sadhana, Samata, Anita and Sunita.
“One of the women is disabled, another is a widow with three small children and another is a young single woman,” Father Vineet Pereira, a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Varanasi, explained to : “This is all a matter of electoral politics; the The situation in Uttar Pradesh is such that no Christian can hold prayer meetings at home, even if we were celebrating the anniversary of India’s independence,” he explained.
“But not only are we not free to worship Jesus, they even prevent us from celebrating a social event like a birthday.”
Father Pereira considers that this is due to “the situation of polarization that exists at the moment in Uttar Pradesh”, which “has planted suspicion in people’s minds, although before everyone lived in peace and harmony celebrating their holidays and anniversaries” .
“Having religious material at home is not a criminal or illegal act. How can that be used as a pretext to make accusations of conversion?” the priest insisted.
Azamgarth Deputy Superintendent of Police explained that the women were charged under sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to disturb the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Penal Code, and under the Prohibition of illegal conversion of Uttar Pradesh.
For his part, Police Superintendent Siddharth Kumar stated that “Sub-Inspector Kamlesh Yadav of the Maharajganj Police Station was in the vicinity with other staff members when he heard that some women were forcing impoverished villagers to convert with threats. The police have launched a detailed investigation into the case.”
The first bail request was rejected. The second will be presented on August 16. The six women do not lose hope of regaining their freedom to reunite with their families.
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