Conversion of Hindus in UP? Probe ordered

BAHRAICH: A magisterial inquiry was ordered on Thursday into an incident of alleged religious conversion in Kamlapuri village. Report saying 70 Hindus had been converted to Christianity in the village near the forest on the Indo-Nepal border had created tension in the district on Wednesday.
While one activist from an organization called India Hope Center has been arrested, the district administration denied that conversion had taken place.However, police and PAC personnel have been deployed in the village. Some villagers had been spotted wearing crosses, which the police removed on Thursday and deposited at the police station.The movement of religious leaders was also restricted. District magistrate Satyendra Singh told TOI it had not been confirmed if conversions had taken place. "We have sent the deputy collector of Nanpara to the village for investigation. A magisterial inquiry has also been ordered."
Intelligence officials said activities of India Hope Center had picked up in the area in the past few months, especially after floods. Most of those who reportedly changed their religion belonged to the schedule and most backward castes.
According to reports, activists of India Hope Center had been visiting Majra Kamlapuri of Matehi Kala village in Motipur for the past few months.
According to reports, they had provided relief material to the villagers after floods hit the region and the activists assured them that their lives would change if they converted to Christianity. Consequently, 70 persons of the village allegedly converted a few days ago. According to SO Motipur Mohammad Yasin and officers of intelligence agencies, the villagers would gather at the house of Amarjeet for prayer meetings and the baptism of a few villagers was performed by Bishop Mahendra Kumar, a local priest. After the police reached the village on Thursday , the "converted" villagers removed the crosses they were wearing and handed over signed papers stat ing they had not been converted.
Minorities panel to visit Agra for probe Agra:
A four-member team of UP Minorities Commission led by its chairperson Shakeel Ahmad will visit Agra on Friday to probe into allegations of forced conversion of 50 families to Hinduism recently by members of Dharm Jagarti Manch and Bajrang Dal. "The report will be later sent to the state government," a member told TOI.