'Worrying Trend': P Vijayan, Congress Slam Pastor's Arrest In Maharashtra

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A pastor from Kerala and seven others were arrested on charges of offering money to people for conversion to Christianity in Maharashtra's Amravati district today.

The incident has now escalated into a major political controversy, with Kerala Chief Minister calling the arrests "deeply disturbing" and the Congress targetting the BJP over what it called a selective targeting of the Christians.

"This follows a worrying pattern of targetting minorities to fuel polarisation," he said.

"Such actions undermine constitutional freedoms," Vijayan posted on X.

The incident took place in Varud, around 80 km from Amravati.

According to a complaint filed with the police, a tent was erected in front of the house of a local, Ritesh Bondre, on Tuesday.

A man dressed in white clothes was preaching about Christianity to the villagers, and it was alleged that people attending the gathering were being offered money to convert.

"According to the complaint, they were saying, 'Come to our religion,' and were offering money and jobs as incentives," police said.

After a complaint by Lakshman Shede, a resident of Varud, the police inspected the spot and took Bondre into custody. During his questioning, the names of Anandkumar Kari, Sudhir William John William, Vikram Gopal Sande, and four women surfaced.

The pastor and others - including four women - were then arrested and a case was filed against all of them under sections 299 (hurting religious sentiments) and 302 (uttering words with the intent to hurt religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

However, all of them were later granted bail after being produced in court.

Slamming the ruling party over the arrests, Congress MP KC Venugopal said, "Week after week, Christians are being selectively targeted across BJP-ruled states for simply practising their faith."

"The latest arrest of a Christian priest in Nagpur is highly condemnable and is a clear indication that wherever the BJP is in power, it uses the state machinery to harass Christians under the bogus pretense of religious conversions," he said in a post on X. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

December 31, 2025 at 10:07PM

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