Gorakhpur Conversion Row: 4 Held, ‘Sunday Prayer Meets’ Under Scanner; Bihar Link Suspected

In Gorakhpur’s Gulriha police station area, police on Sunday arrested four individuals, including a mother and son, over allegations of attempting religious conversions inside a house.

The arrests were made after a written complaint by Sheetal Mishra, a resident of Surajkund under Gorakhnath police station limits. Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR under the Religious Conversion Act and initiated an investigation.

The accused have been identified as Amit Singh and his mother Rita Devi from Parwarpar village in Ramkola (Kushinagar), Kanhaiya Yadav from PPganj, and Vicky Kumar from Sarhari in the Gulriha area. All four were taken into custody on Sunday.

According to sources, weekly prayer meetings were being organised every Sunday in the Gulriha area, and a video of such a gathering has also gone viral on social media. It is alleged that people, particularly from backward sections, were being lured into conversion by offering money, benefits, and promises of rewards, including changing their names.

During the investigation, the name of a man identified as Wilson, reportedly from Bihar, has surfaced. Police suspect that the alleged activities were being carried out at his behest. He is said to have converted himself earlier and was encouraging others to do the same.

Locals had earlier raised concerns about such activities in areas including Jungle Ekla, Sarhari, Pipraich, PPganj, and around institutions like AYUSH University. However, police had not taken action earlier due to the absence of formal complaints.

Police officials said they are now probing the wider network by interrogating the accused and analysing their call detail records (CDRs). Efforts are underway to identify other associates involved in the alleged operation.

CO Gorakhnath Ravi Kumar Singh stated that a thorough investigation is in progress and assured that the entire network will be exposed.

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