An FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sahita, Rajasthan Anti-Conversion Law and the Foreigners Act Section 14. (file)
Sri Ganganagar police in Rajasthan detained six people — including a German couple — Thursday night for alleged religious conversion activities in the Sri Karanpur area near India’s international border.
According to local police, they received information that a Christian prayer group was functioning without permission in Sri Karanpur, about 15 km from the Pakistan border. When police reached the spot, they detained several people, including a German couple who were in India on work visas.
Raji Ram, Circle Officer of Sri Karanpur police station, told The Indian Express, “We have detained six people and FIR has been registered. Allegations were made regarding prayer group functioning without permission. It is a matter of investigation if they were involved in religious conversion. The German couple have not been named in the FIR. They were visiting the area on invitation of one of detainees who knew them from his time in Germany”.
The German couple have been identified as Swan Boz Bet Jaller and his wife Sandra. Others detained include Santosh Varghese (Karnataka), Mathew (Kerala), Baljinder Singh Khosa, and Rajesh Kamboj alias Poppy. An FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sahita, Rajasthan Anti-Conversion Law and the Foreigners Act Section 14.
A large number of people from Hindu and Sikh organisations gathered outside the place where the alleged prayer group was functioning and in front of the police station to hold protests till late night. According to police officials, Sri Karanpur is a sensitive area adjacent to the international border, where strict rules are in place regarding the movement of foreign nationals.
An investigation is under way to determine how the German couple reached the area. Further investigation will begin after Bikaner Range Inspector General Hemant Sharma and Sri Ganganagar Superintendent of Police Amrita Duhan arrive in Sri Karanpur.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the German couple entered the area without permission.
