On 23 February police arrested nine Christians in two locations in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for holding Sunday prayer meetings, which Hindu groups alleged were intended to convert Hindus. The detainees are pictured outside Sitapur police station; it is reported that some have since been released on bail.
Five Christians including a pastor were arrested in Sitapur district, where a case was registered following a complaint by Anuj Bhadauria, district coordinator of Hindu nationalist organisation Bajrang Dal. Four others including a pastor were arrested in Raebareli district. In each case the Christians had gathered for regular Sunday prayers in a home when a Hindu mob barged in and alleged that they were defaming the Hindu religion and its deities and offering inducements to convert people – the image below is a still from a video taken during the disruption of Sitapur Church. Police seized Bibles and other religious materials as evidence of conversion activities.
“They were later remanded in judicial custody,” a church leader who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals told UCA News on 24 February. He said the police action was based on “mere allegations from right-wing Hindu activists and without any evidence. It has now become very dangerous for Christians to hold prayer gatherings in their homes.”
The arrested Christians were charged under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021, a strict anti-conversion law that was amended last year to include harsher punishments including life imprisonment for religious conversion activities. The amended law allows anyone to file a complaint about alleged conversion without having to prove it, whereas previously only alleged victims or their families or guardians could file a complaint.
Pastor Joy Mathew, who is based in Uttar Pradesh, told UCA News that the arrested Christians were exercising their constitutional right to practice their religion. “It is very strange that police are now confiscating the Holy Bible as evidence to prove religious conversion,” he said. “It is their fundamental right, not only to follow the religion of their choice but also to propagate it. The Indian Constitution allows them to do so.”
Over one hundred Christians are reportedly being held in different jails across Uttar Pradesh state, with 35 jailed so far in 2025. Christians make up less than one percent of the 200 million people who live in the state. Uttar Pradesh is ruled by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which promotes Hindutva ideology.
(Observer Post, Sanatan Probhat, UCA News)
Images: stills from Hindutva Watch video