Police arrived and detained three Christians in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, for their alleged attempt to convert 350 Hindus from economically weak sections by luring them with money, following an uproar by Hindu organisations. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) district president Lakhan Singh said that this morning (11 February) a group of 20 odd Christian preachers had converged at Sonar Haveli, a hotel, in the city to organise an event to convert 350 Hindus.
In what is referred to as a “Changezi sabha” in the local lingo, 20 odd Christians — including some women — arrived and told the group of tribal and Dalit people that Jesus Christ had the solution to all their problems. They claimed that by adopting the Christian faith, their problems of money and diseases would go away.
During the discourse, the Christians made some objectionable comments against Hinduism, a few locals who reported the matter to the VHP said. They said the Christians referred to Hindu deities Brahma, Vishnu, Rama and Hanuman as “kooda karkat” (garbage).
As two Hindu women who were invited to the event tried to record the goings-on, the evangelists tried to snatch their devices. By then, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists had reached the spot on receiving a complaint. They resisted the bid for mass conversion.
A scuffle broke out when the women demanded their phones back. A stampede followed as those who had gathered at the spot panicked.
The targeted poor Hindus told the police that the preachers of Christianity had bribed them with Rs 500 each, promising to pay more later. Besides, the conversion gang assured the villagers to help in their children’s education and marriages.
Police registered a report at the Mathura Gate police station in Bharatpur and seized copies of the Bible from the three people detained; the rest of the gang had fled when they saw the police arriving. No arrest has been made in the case yet.