Arrested pastor used magic for religious conversion: Goa CM

Two days after pastor Dominic D'Souza was arrested for allegedly luring people to convert to Christianity, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said that the pastor used "magic" to convert his targets. He also said that luring people to convert their religion would not be tolerated in Goa.

"Our Home Department has done a good job by filing cases against Dominic who was accused of religious conversion. He claimed to use magic to compel people to convert their religion. There have always been complaints against him, but the police department had not acted against him," Sawant said.

Dominic and his wife Joan were booked by the Goa Police under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, earlier this week for allegedly luring a person to convert to Christianity. While Dominic was arrested and released on bail on Friday, the police have so far not arrested his wife.

Sawant said that "two to three" complaints had been filed against the pastor who runs the Five Pillars Church from Siolim village in North Goa.

"Dominic used to lure poor people into religious conversion. The government will take strict action. We will not allow religious conversion in Goa. We will act on complaints, whenever we receive them. We respect all religions and all people," Sawant said.