Palghar/Dahanu (Maharashtra): Local villagers of Dahanu have foiled a plot to forcibly convert people by saying that all their sufferings will end if they embrace Christianity. The police detained four missionaries, who tried to forcibly convert an elderly Adivasi woman, who was alone in her house at Saravali Talavpada near Dahanu to accept Christianity by luring her with money.
The problem of conversion is very old in the remote Adivasi-dominated talukas of Dahanu, Talasari, Jawhar and Vikramgad in the Palghar district. The poor and uneducated of this area are being converted by taking advantage of their ignorance and luring them with money. This has led to frequent disputes between the original Hindu Adivasis and the Christian converts in the village over the celebration of festivals and other customs.
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At Saravali Talavpada near Dahanu, four Christian missionaries entered the house of an Adivasi woman and said that all her sufferings will be cured if she accepts Christianity. The woman lodged a complaint with the Dahanu police alleging she was forced to accept Christianity saying that she should not follow her religion, but follow Christianity by offering money.
Based on a complaint of the woman, the Dahanu police arrested Clement D Baila, Mariama T Phillips, Paramjit aka Pinky Sharma Kaur and Parshuram Dharma Dhingada, the four missionaries under IPC Sections 153, 295, 448, 34. In the rural areas of Chowkat, Dahanu and Talasari Christian missionaries are trying to convert the poor by misguiding them and offering them various kinds of bait.
