An army captain-turned-pastor has been arrested by the police for allegedly trying to convert people into Christianity in the Jammu region.
An army captain-turned-pastor has been arrested by the police for allegedly trying to convert people into Christianity in the Jammu region.
Captain Samuel, 70, was arrested from his residence in Jammu after families of two missing girls complained that their wards have been kidnapped by Christian missionaries. A Hindu man who converted to Christianity a few years ago has also gone missing from Jammu.
The two girls have gone missing in February after they reportedly converted to Christianity prompting their families to register a complaint with the police. After preliminary enquires, police registered a case under section 153 (A) RPC and arrested Captain Samuel. “He was motivating people to convert. Therefore he was taken into custody,” said Manohar Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jammu.
This is the first time that any Christian missionary has been arrested by the police for “conversions” in the state.
Hailing from south, Captain Samuel served in the army before he quit his job to become a Christian missionary. He then shifted to Jammu in early 1970s and was initially living at Udhampur before shifting to Jammu. The issue has snowballed into major controversy in Jammu with Christians up in arms for what they termed as selective campaign against the community. “We condemn the arrest of the pastor who is innocent. He has been arrested without any proof”, said Marcus Gill, president, J&K Christian Forum.
Gill said the pastor quit his job and was doing yeomen’s service in Jammu. “There are 1.5 lakh Christians living in J&K. There is no case of forced conversions. Two girls have reportedly gone missing and their families have lodged a complaint which police made the basis to arrest the pastor”, he said. The Christian leader said besides two girls, one convert is also missing. “Vikas Sharma had converted some years ago and was also doing the service for the mankind”, he said.
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