Police arrested 19 Christians in India for distributing religious literature at two government-run schools without the permission of the school staff. Source: Crux.
The arrests took place in Bihar, a state in Eastern India, on September 26.
According to the Times of India, the police said 17 of the 19 arrested persons were from the South Indian state of Telangana.
The religious literature included Bibles, photos and pamphlets. This literature – along with three four-wheelers and a bike – were seized by police.
The arrests were made after a complaint by the headmaster of a school in Nibiya village.
Bihar is the third most populous state in India, with over 130 million people. However, there are only about 100,000 Christians.
The Christians were charged with trespassing, obstructing government work and propagating religion in an illegal manner. They were granted bail after the charges were issued.
However, the accused claimed that the literature was distributed at the invitation of the school principal.
“Wherever we go, we distribute Christian literature to people who are interested,” Bhanu Victoria, who is from the state of Hyderabad, told the Sunday Times of India.
“A man who had gone through the books expressed interest in the literature. He introduced himself as a school principal and invited us to distribute the literature in his school. So, on his invite, two among us went to the school. Otherwise, why would we go?” Mr Victoria said.
Someone in the school shot a video and shared it with the senior district administration. More than 50 people gathered at the school and started questioning two women about the literature.
Then, police took all 19 Christians into their custody and registered an official complaint on the accusation given by the school’s teacher.
The national government in India is run by the Bharatiya Janata Party, with strong links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a militant Hindu nationalist organisation.
Hindu nationalists often accuse Christians of using force and surreptitious tactics in pursuing conversions, often storming into villages and leading “reconversion” ceremonies in which Christians are compelled to perform Hindu rituals.
FULL STORY
Christians arrested for distributing religious literature in North India (By Nirmala Carvalho, Crux)
