Three Christians, including a pastor, have been arrested under the stringent anti-conversion law in a northern Indian state.
A police team from Saidpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district raided the residence of Pastor Ramjit Rajwar following a complaint by Jitendra Singh, a Hindu man.
A local court remanded the three Christians in judicial custody on Jan. 15, the same day of their arrest.
“They pleaded not guilty of the alleged charges and urged the court to grant them bail, but it was turned down,” said a Christian leader who is assisting them with the legal case.
“We will soon file a bail application,” the Church leader, who did not want to be named, told UCA News on Jan.16
In his complaint, Singh accused Pastor Rajwar and the others of forcing him and his ailing wife to convert to Christianity promising miraculous healing.
Singh said his religious sentiments were hurt when the pastor and others spoke ill of Hindu religion.
During the raid, police seized religious materials including the Bible.
This story was originally published in ucanews.com. Read the full story here .