Indian priest jailed under ‘anti-conversion’ laws is released https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256359/indian-priest-jailed-under-anti-conversion-laws-is-released, Anto Akkara, Dec 22, 2023 A Catholic priest who was arrested by Indian authorities for violating “anti-conversion” laws, was released from jail on Dec. 11 after being detained for nearly three months amid increasing persecution of Christians in the majority-Hindu state of Uttar Pradesh.
The Diocese of Allahabad, in a statement, detailed the sequence of events that led to the priest's arrest. According to the diocese, the police were trying to locate a Christian pastor named Susai Raj, who allegedly violated “conversion laws” by conducting prayers inside a house. Raj is the brother of an employee of Father Francis. When the police could not find Raj, they arrested two of his brothers, his son-in-law, along with the Catholic priest, and brought them to the police station. All of them were charged with conversion and “attempt to murder.”’
A C Michael, coordinator of the United Christian Forum (UCF) said While only 147 incidents of violence against Christians were reported in 2014 (when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took office), Michael pointed out that “incidents have steadily spiraled since then” with 177 in 2015, 208 in 2016, 240 in 2017, 292 in 2018, 328 in 2019, 279 in 2020, 505 in 2021, 599 in 2022 and 687 until Nov. 2023.