9/30/2024 India (International Christian Concern) — Despite being granted bail, a pastor working for a missionary organization in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh was convicted on Wednesday on charges of unlawful conversions and sentenced to five years in prison.

Authorities arrested Pastor Vikas Nimach and five other believers in December 2021 after receiving complaints of forced conversions. The complaint stated that the six Christians called Hindus to their church and promised them INR 1,000 a month, or $12, as well as a motorbike and free medical treatment for their family.

The pastor spent nine months in jail while the other five were granted bail. After a long legal battle, Nimach obtained bail in September 2022 with the help of a Christian legal organization.

However, due to the pastor’s lawyer’s mishandling of trial plan proceedings, the Lower Court of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh found the pastor guilty under Section 10 (2) of the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act. In addition to his prison sentence, the judge fined the pastor INR 100,000, roughly $1,200.

Nimach’s legal team will appeal the sentence.

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email [email protected].