Uttar Pradesh man arrested for converting 230 Dalit families to Christianity

Police on Monday arrested a man who allegedly converted 230 Dalit families to Christianity promising to cure their members suffering from any ailment.

Accused Bajrang Rawat, a Christian from Lucknow, was living on the railway land falling under the Lonikatra police station limits here for the last one year, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Akhilesh Narayan Singh said.

Some copies of the Bible and other Christian books were also recovered from his residence, Singh said.

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On the basis of a complaint by one Vijay Hindustani from Haidergarh town, a case was registered against Rawat under relevant sections of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, the ASP said, adding that efforts are on to ascertain involvement of other people who were helping the accused.

In his complaint, Hindustani, an activist of a Hindu outfit, alleged that when he, along with other activists, visited the spot, he found many Hindu women of the area there.

Hindustani said that Rawat used to call the poor people of the area in the name of treating them for their ailments and then lure them to convert to Christianity.

The complainant also informed police that the locals said that they had benefited from the treatment provided by the accused and that they would no longer go to a temple.

Hindustani has accused Rawat and his family of influencing 230 Dalit families to convert to Christianity, police said.

The Hindu activist also alleged that Rawat used to take the Dalit families to Jalandhar on the pretext of medical treatment and got them converted to Christianity there.