ICC Note: 271 Christians in India have been arrested after they allegedly sought to convert Hindu believes in unlawful ways including the use of drugs and spreading lies about Hinduism. In court Christians were not found guilty of any of the charges, but are now being accused of other various criminal offenses. An Indian pastor said that they are all false charges and completely fabricated.

09/22/2018 India (World Watch Monitor) –  Two hundred and seventy-one Christians in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have been charged with a range of crimes including attempting to convert Hindus through the use of drugs and by spreading lies about Hinduism.

Of the 271, just three were named – pastors Durga Prasad Yadav, Kirit Rai and Jitendra Ram – in the charges filed in Jaunpur district, 200km southeast of the state capital Lucknow, on 5 September.

The 271 were initially cleared of any wrongdoing by a court in August, but now stand “accused of various criminal offenses, like fraud, defiling places of worship, prejudice against national integration”, Deputy Police Superintendent Anil Kumar Pandey told AsiaNews.

“In Uttar Pradesh Hindu radicals have fabricated unfounded accusations against innocent Pentecostal Christians,” Sajan K. George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), told AsiaNews.

“There has been a surge in persecution against Christians. Pentecostal pastors and Christian groups are under the constant watch of radical elements and the police,” he added.

A local pastor said the allegations were “absolutely false and baseless.” He told UCAN Christians had been worshiping in the area for the past 15 years and that it never had caused any problems until the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power.

A lawyer for those who filed the complaint said the suspects had been trying for years to persuade people to convert to Christianity and come to church.

“After the prayers on Sunday and Tuesday, they used to spread false information about Hinduism to persuade people to embrace Christianity,” the lawyer said. “In addition, the accused handed out banned medications and drugs to visitors and under their effect influenced them to become Christians.”

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