Gorakhpur/New Delhi: An alleged attempt to brazenly convert hundreds of Dalits to Christianity came to light from Gorakhpur, the constituency of Hindutva icon and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on Monday.

The incident, which occurred at the Raghunathpur village under the Gulriha police station, comes close on the heels of an incident in Jaunpur where all but five Hindu families of a village had converted to Christianity. The modus operandi in Gorakhpur seems to be the same as that employed in Jaunpur, where Hindus were led to convert through prayer meetings or ‘prarthana sabhas’.

MyNation has got an exclusive access to the video of the meet where villagers were singing ‘bhajans’ in praise of Christianity.

Acting swiftly after strong protests from the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a Hindutva outfit that is hyperactive in the Gorakhpur region, the police arrested five, including the person who had organised the ‘prarthana sabha’.

The villagers alleged that a youth named Anil of the same village had been misleading members of the Dalit community to convert into Christianity. Members of the Yuva Vahini, sources told MyNation, received information regarding the prayer meeting and informed the police. The pro-Hindu organisation staged a massive protest.

"

According to the police, the villagers had complained that every Sunday Anil used to organise a prayer meet at his house where superstitious claims of curing serious diseases through miracles was peddled. These claims were then used to convert villagers.

Superintendent of police (SP) Rohit Singh told MyNation that a certain religion was allegedly deprecated at the meetings, while a particular way of praying was peddled as capable of curing diseases.