Court acquits eight Christians from charges of forced conversion

The Christian men, arrested in 2007, were accused of proselytizing to their Hindu neighbors.

Hyderabad:  A court in Karnataka has acquitted eight Christians, who were accused of forcibly converting a Hindu and were in jail for the last eight years.

The Christian men, arrested in 2007, were accused of proselytizing to their Hindu neighbors, going door to door in Balya village of the state.

A member of the community complained to the police who then registered the case against them.

The court ordered the release of T. Sebastian, K. Varghese, M. Thomas, S. Babu, V. Baby, T. Joseph, T. James and T. Alexander.

"This is a victory not only for the eight innocent Christians, but for the entire Christian community," Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), said.

"Conversion is a right established by the Constitution," he added. "But conversion implemented by fraudulent means or coercion is illegal. It is not conversion."

George said that many Christians in Karnataka receive threats and harassment frequently by Hindu right-wing extremists who "disrupt their prayers in private homes and blame them for alleged forced conversions."

"The GCIC gladly welcomes the acquittal of the eight innocent Christians," he said.

India is currently 21 on Open Doors' World Watch List, which ranks the most difficult countries to be a Christian. According to the persecution charity, the influence fundamentalist Hindus have on the government has increased, and Hindu radicals now monitor Christian activities closely.

Source: Christian today