Police in Bareilly have arrested three individuals, including a pastor identified as Sumit Masey, on charges that they lured economically disadvantaged Hindus into converting to Christianity through monetary and material inducements, officials said Tuesday. The arrests came after complaints from local residents alleging that the suspects rented a property and used gatherings under the guise of prayer meetings to target underprivileged families.
According to the complaint filed at Baradari police station, residents of Subhash Nagar and Nakatia areas reported that persons connected with a Christian missionary rented premises in the Super City area and coerced women and children into conversion. The first information report names Pastor Sumit Masey, his associate Amit Masey, and Sarita and Satyapal—both residents of Bareilly—as the accused. The FIR was filed under Section 299 and Sections 3 and 5 of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
Officials say the case hinges on the allegation that the suspects offered “allurements” to residents of socially and economically vulnerable groups to induce conversion. Station House Officer Dhananjay Pandey noted that preliminary investigations suggest the operation may have been ongoing for some time. Police are working to identify the full extent of the network, the number of conversions carried out, and any underlying funding sources.
The legislation under which the case was filed—the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021—is among the most stringent in India, placing the burden on the accused to explain the nature of any conversion and penalising “fraudulent” or “inducement-based” religious changes. Human rights observers say the law is often criticised for its broad definitions and potential to restrict religious freedom, particularly for minority faiths.
Conversion matters along religious lines have surged into the spotlight across several states in recent years. For example, in Uttarakhand a landmark judicial acquittal of a pastor in September 2025 brought attention to evidentiary standards in conversion cases—where prosecutors failed to produce direct witnesses of “allurement” or coerced religious change, and the court emphasised constitutional protection for religious practice. In that case, despite the accused being charged under the state’s anti-conversion law, the court found the evidence inadequate.
Observers of the Bareilly case note several features that echo patterns flagged by both authorities and civil rights groups: faith-oriented gatherings held in rented houses, targeting economically and socially marginalised groups, promises of healing or material benefit, and involvement of children or women. One recent account from Rajasthan alleged a pastor and his son had lured over 25 households by promising miraculous cures in return for conversion.
Local police have said that one suspect in the Bareilly case remains at large; they are expanding surveillance and inquiry into possible links with wider missionary networks. Meanwhile community activists in the region have raised concerns about the interaction between conversion efforts and caste-based deprivation, pointing out how poorer households may be especially susceptible to offers of financial support or social services framed in religious terms.
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