Meerut: Bajrang Dal members here allegedly assaulted two men, accusing them of offering Rs 5 lakh to a resident for getting people to convert to Christianity. Police later arrested the assault victims.

The incident occurred at Vikas Enclave Colony under Kankerkheda police station where, according to Bajrang Dal members, two men approached a resident, Pawan Gupta, and asked him to arrange for religious meetings where “Christianity would be promoted”.

Bajrang Dal Meerut province convenor Balraj Dungar said, “Soon after getting this information, we reached the spot and caught hold of the two men. We found that they were targeting Hindu families at periods of the day when the men of the households would be away at work, such as in the mornings. The two men would then target women for conversion. The allegation that we physically assaulted them is false. We only took them to the police station where, after investigation, an FIR was filed against them. Luring someone into another religion with the promise of money has always been one of the tactics of missionaries. We will not allow this to happen at any cost.”

According to locals, two men in their mid-thirties — Jatin Joseph, a resident of Garh Road, Meerut and Shirish Shinde, a resident of Mumbai — had approached residents of Vikas Enclave some time earlier.

“They came to my house and said they wanted to share the good news about Christ and also asked if I could arrange some of my neighbours to have religious sessions with them, and inform them about the teachings of Christ. When I asked them what I would gain from this, they said I would get Rs 5 lakh if I organized five sessions for them and brought some people to Christ,” said Pawan Gupta, the complainant in the case.

Mahesh Chand, senior sub inspector at Kankerkhera police station told TOI, “On the basis of the complaint by Gupta, an FIR has been filed under section 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) of the IPC. The two men have been arrested.”

Joseph and Shinde admitted they were propagating Christianity, but denied charges of using monetary inducements for this. Joseph, who is in police custody, said, “We belong to the Jehovah’s Witnesses denomination. It is not wrong to propagate one’s religion as it is within the ambit of the law, but the charge that we were converting locals or offering money is completely false.”

Meanwhile, a Meerut-based Christian organisation has criticised the action against the two men. State president of Isaai Mahasabha, Robin Nath said, “We strongly condemn the assault on the two men by Bajrang Dal activists. An FIR must be filed against those who beat the men. The allegation that the two had promised Rs 5 lakh is entirely concocted. This is a huge amount and no organisation can dole out such kind of money. Besides, no conversion took place and yet police filed the FIR without even going into the details.”