Meerut police files FIR against 9 for religious conversion

A case has been registered against nine people in Meerut for allegedly forcibly converting hundreds of poor migrants into Christianity "on the sly" in exchange for helping them during the lockdown.

The accused, including three women, have been booked under sections of Uttar Pradesh's Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act of 2020 based on a complaint by alleged victims, police officials said. Three of them have been arrested.

The alleged incident took place at Mangatpuram in Brahmapuri area of Meerut where people engaged in rag picking and labour work have settled and converted the area into a makeshift residential locality, officials said. These settlers are mainly from Barabanki.


In the FIR, it has been stated that when it became difficult for these daily wagers to earn during the Covid-19 lockdown, some better-off people of the same locality helped them with money and food. In return, they had to go to a church and later to another church. Then they were allegedly asked to embrace Christianity and change their names on Aadhaar cards.