States & UTs

    UP couple charged with forced conversion to Christianity

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    The Hawk
    December20/ 2022
    Last Updated:

    Sitapur, UP (The Hawk): A couple has been detained under the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act for allegedly pressuring people to convert to Christianity while they were visiting Sitapur with Brazilian tourists.

    David Ashthana, the primary suspect, was taken into custody late on Monday night.

    A resident of Sehbajpur village named Naimish Gupta filed a FIR, stating that four Brazilian tourists—Rivaldo Joses DaSilva, Magnolia Maro Laronzera, Gulheram Nasimento Edalgo, and Alexander D'Silva—advanced to their hamlet with David and Rohini Asthana, a married couple from Lucknow.

    They approached the people and made an effort to convert them, according to Gupta.

    Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Mahmoodabad Circle Officer, stated: "A police squad arrived at the village after receiving information from Naimish Gupta. The Brazilians told us they were travelling with the Lucknowian couple to Sitapur on a tourist visa. The tourists will be questioned while an investigation is being conducted. David and his wife are the targets of a case that we have filed. They were unable to explain why they drove the tourists to a remote Sitapur area, according to Prasad.

    Before taking further action, he stated that the statements of the locals will also be recorded.

    The way the tourists connected with the couple is still unknown, according to the police.

    (Inputs from Agencies)