Bhopal: Police on April 27 stopped a wedding ceremony in a Pentecostal church the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh after a Hindu group complained that the couple had been unlawfully converted to Christianity.
A police team accompanied Bajrang Dal to enter a place of worship owned by the Church of God in Satna and arrested 10 people, including Pastor Sam Samuel and the groom’s parents.
However, they were released on bail in the evening after registering a case.
A police official Sitaram Yadav said the bride was was 10 days short of turning 18, the eligible year for a woman to marriage. He said the couple had converted to Christianity four years ago, but did not inform the Satna district authorities, as stipulated by the state’s anti-conversion legislation, The Indian Express reported.
Yadav said the Bajrang Dal informed police that members of the Kushwaha community were being converted at the church. “We registered an FIR on a complaint by the bride’s uncle,” he said. The groom, Ajay Kushwaha, 24, works with a private firm.
Police invoked not only Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, but Indian Penal Code’s Section 295 (A) dealing with deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings and Section 14 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
Church spokesman Mariyosh Joseph called the charges false and said the bride and groom were Christians. He said the Bajrang Dal and the RSS were behind the complaint.