‘They Beat Us, Were Forcing People To Convert’: MP Woman Complaints Against Parents, Christian Missionary Programme

An Indore-based 24-year-old woman Shalini Kaushal has filed an FIR against her parents Rakesh Kaushal and Rani Kaushal for forcing her to convert to Christianity in a ceremony held on late Tuesday in the city.

HN Mishra, deputy-general inspector of police in Indore, revealed that the Kaushal couple has been booked under section 3 and 5 of Madhya Pradesh’s Freedom of Religion Ordinance, Hindustan Times reports.

A total of nine people were named in the FIR and all of them have been sent to judicial custody after being produced in the court on Wednesday.

“Shalini said that her parents Rakesh and Rani lied to her and took her to a Christian Church Satprakashan Sanchar Kendra, Indrapuri, Indore to attend a Christian missionary programme. In the programme, the accused were saying that God will help you...Some women beat me up,” the FIR stated.

It further read, “They were forcing people to convert to Christianity. I am Hindu by religion but my parents and others were forcing me to convert. Like me, there were two more people, who were being forced for conversion.”

Apparently, Bajrang Dal workers arrived at the site swiftly upon getting to know about this mass conversion program.

Tannu Sharma, the leader of Indore of the organization said that it came into light that more than 150 people from the state were brought to Indore for their religious conversion.

Sharma said that many people informed them that they were being forced to change their religion and they reached at the location to stop the accused from doing so.

Father Babu Joseph is the director of the centre and said that he wasn’t aware of any such program.

“People are free to organize any programme without taking any permission, but we don’t promote conversion. I will look into the matter,” he was quoted in the report.

DIG HN Mishra explained that the police are probing into the accused’s backgrounds and also the involvement of the centre’s office-bearers. “We are also investigating to know whether it was a mass conversion programme or not as most of the participants were Hindu,” the officer quipped.