Originally published at The Crux
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Police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh arrested two Pentecostal pastors and one other man late last week after hearing they were involved in efforts to convert people to Christianity, another incident highlighting the plight of India’s minority Christians.
The Press Trust of India reported Pentecostal pastors Vivek Kumar, Mohit Chaudhary and another man identified only as Amit were arrested on May 27 by police acting on a complaint that individuals were being lured to a Christian prayer meeting that drew people from multiple districts to the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow.
A senior police officer said complainant Pankaj Shukla alleged the group attending the prayer meeting included more than twenty people – a mix of men and women – from several different towns and cities across two states.
The complainant expressed apprehension that an attempt could be made to convert them, the officer said.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case under relevant provisions of the India’s criminal code and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act of 2021.
Issued in March, the 2026 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) says religious freedom conditions in India “continued to deteriorate”
