The Ghaziabad Police arrested two men, including a pastor, for allegedly attempting to convert members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) by offering inducements, said officers on Monday. The arrest comes following a complaint by a Bajrang Dal member.
According to police, Pastor Vinod hails from Kerala and currently lives in Sahibabad. The other arrested man is Premchand Jatav, a resident of Rahul Vihar in Ghaziabad.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Wave City, Priyashri Pal, said the arrests were made after police received a complaint from one Prabal Gupta at the Crossings Republik police station on Sunday.
“Gupta, in his complaint, alleged that he [the pastor] was converting people from SC communities by offering them cash and kind. We have not come to any concrete conclusion yet, but have begun our investigation,” ACP Pal told The Indian Express.
“We filed a case based on the application under relevant sections and arrested both the accused. Further legal action is being taken and an investigation is underway; legal proceedings will depend on the outcome of evidence collection,” the ACP added.
Gupta, who said he is a member of the Bajrang Dal, claimed he got information that a ‘church’ was running illegally inside a house in Rahul Vihar.
Claiming that Pastor Vinod was carrying out religious conversions at Jatav’s home, he alleged in his complaint, “Premchand had converted to Christianity several years ago and used to host weekly Sunday prayer meetings at his home and carry out conversions. These meetings served as a platform for the pastor to approach other individuals and persuade them to change their religion.”
Gupta also alleged that when Bajrang Dal members opposed it, they were attacked.
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When The Indian Express visited Rahul Vihar on Monday, the single-storey house, where Gupta alleged religious conversion was taking place, was closed and its gates were damaged.
Satish Anand, 54, a neighbour, said Jatav built this house nearly 30 years ago. “It is not true that he was converting people,” he said.
“He used to hold prayers on Sunday, and people from Rahul Vihar and Buddh Vihar used to attend it. But he never asked anyone to convert,” added Anand, who runs an eatery in the area.
“He owned a dairy and supplied buffalo milk in the area,” said another resident.
