Christian conversions fuel tension in UP

BAHRAICH/AGRA/BHADOHI: Fresh instances of religious conversions have been alleged, with a number of Hindus now claiming to have been converted to Christianity in various parts of UP.
In Bahraich’s Navinagar Mohraniya village, 70 Hindus were allegedly converted to Christianity, leading to tension in the area, with the district administration deploying provincial armed constabulary to maintain peace.Cops, however, dismissed this prima facie as rumour, but said the charges were being investigated.
In Agra, a woman in Etmadpur, who had complained to the police on Sunday against some members of a Christian ‘satsang’ converting her to Christianity, has now gone underground. A group of VHP men alleged that she was forced to leave the village after her admission that she was forcibly converted to Christianity.
While Ramvati Devi of Gadi Sampat village alleged she was converted, cops said she may have left the village for work. Her children refused to divulge their parents’ location after both of them were seen leaving the village by some people on Monday morning.
On Sunday, around a dozen women from Hindu families at Gadi Sampat village in Etmadpur, 25 km from Agra, had claimed that they had converted to Christianity. Although the police claimed no conversion had taken place in that village, VHP reached the police station with Ramvati, who gave a ‘tehrir’ (complaint) to lodge an FIR against two persons, both Hindus.
In her complaint, Ramvati Devi (46), wife of Bani Singh from Gadi Sampat village, claimed to have opted for Christianity around a fortnight ago. She said she was lured by a fellow villager who used to go to the ‘satsang’ organized by Christians every Sunday at Tundla. She claimed the “satsang” organizers had promised a government job for her husband and free education to her children in missionary schools.
“Initially, the police refused to lodge an FIR. Later, when we took Ramvati with us, they said they will lodge an FIR after the probe. Now, Ramvati has been forced to leave the village. We will not let this go easily,” said VHP’s Parmendra Jain. He added that VHP has a list of more than 20 villages where Christians are running their “conversion business”.
“In villages of Parihar, Garapur, Sakalpur-Dera, Rehan-Khurd, Agarpur, Kheria etc, Christians are frequently visiting and meeting Hindu families and luring them to get converted to Christianity,” said Sunil Parashar, Prant Gau Raksha Pramukh.