MEERUT: Nine people, including three women, have been booked for allegedly forcing around 100 people to convert to Christianity in the slum area of Mangatpuram under Brahmapuri police station in Meerut on Friday evening.
An FIR has been registered under sections 3 and 5 (1) of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, said SP (city) Piyush Kumar Singh.
They also filed a complaint against nine of them — Chhabili aka Shiva, Binwa, Anil, Sardar, Nikku, Basant, Prema, Titali and Reena, all believed to be local residents.
Vikrant, one of the main complainants, said, “A few people who live in the slum helped us during the Covid-19 crisis. With the support of some outsiders, they provided us with food as well as some money.”
Another slum dweller, who was with Vikrant, added, “After a while, they asked us to visit a makeshift church set up (under a plastic tent) in the area. They also tried to coerce us to stop worshipping our gods and goddesses and embrace Christianity. They even threatened us during Diwali.” When TOI visited the locality on Saturday, many local residents refuted the charges. One of them, on condition of anonymity, said, “Prayers used to take place in the makeshift church from time to time. Some slum dwellers used to willingly attend… No one was converted as such.”
This story was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com . Read the full story here