Pastor arrested on charges religious conversion in MP

Shahdol: Police have arrested a Chhattisgarh-based pastor on charges of religious conversion in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district, an official said on Tuesday.

A villager, Rodal Singh, had complained that pastor Shankar Singh Shyam, a resident of Malakdol in Chhattisgarh, and his associates held an assembly at Nagpura village in Shahdol on Sunday, luring people to convert, Shahdol's Superintendent of Police Kumar Pratik said.

The complainant alleged the pastor was luring the villagers by offering them financial assistance, health benefits, employment and distributing religious literature including the Bible, he said.

The official said following the complaint, the Jaitpur police arrested Shyam and Indrapal Singh, a resident of Dogri Tola in Shahdol, on Monday and registered a case against them under provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, which prohibits conversion by force or cheating.

Further investigation was on into the case, he added.