Lucknow: A pastor and his wife were among seven people booked on Thursday by the Lucknow Police for allegedly running an illegal religious conversion racket under the guise of a multi-level marketing (MLM) network in Mohanlalganj.An FIR was registered at Mohanlalganj police station under Sections 352 and 351(2) of the BNS and Sections 3, 5(1) and 11 of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, following a complaint by Amit Kumar, a resident of Bharswa village.According to the FIR, the incident took place on the night of July 22, when the complainant accused the group of attempting to coerce him into embracing Christianity. He alleged that the accused told him that he and his wife would be blessed with children if they converted to Christianity and started attending church.The seven accused were identified as Chandrabhan, Aarti, Seema, Subla, Daniel, Sheela and Ajay Rawat. Police sources said Daniel, believed to be a pastor from Tamil Nadu, and his wife Subla were among those detained for questioning. The remaining accused are residents of villages in the Mohanlalganj area of Lucknow.According to police, the group allegedly projected itself as being associated with an MLM business and used meetings with local residents as a cover to allegedly persuade vulnerable people to convert to Christianity.Police have detained the suspects for questioning.“A case was registered and investigators are examining the allegations, the activities of the alleged MLM network, and whether similar conversion attempts were made elsewhere,” said Vasanth Kumar Rallapali, additional DCP of south zone.
