Damoh: A case has been registered against 10 members of a Christian organisation for alleged conversion of children and other violations in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district, police said on Monday. An official said that a first information report (FIR) has been registered against 10 persons associated with the organisation based on a complaint lodged by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Sunday. NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo, along with the administrative officers and the police force, inspected Christian missionary institutions and childcare centres.
Also read: Forced religious conversion "very serious" matter: SC
Speaking to the media, NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said, "At the centres run by the Mid India Christian Mission, the staff locked the gate, preventing us from going inside. After which we broke the lock and went inside and investigated." Children were being taught Christian religious practices forbidden under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, he claimed. Kanoongo alleged that a 17-year-old boy from the tribal-dominated Dindori district was being trained to become a pastor at the facility and had been trafficked to Damoh.
The NCPCR chief claimed that the childcare centre run by the organisation was not registered. Based on the NCPCR's complaint, an FIR has been registered under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, police said. (With Agency Inputs)
