Pastor, associate held: NHRC asks Ghaziabad DM to probe aide, says he availed SC benefits despite converting to Christianity
Days after the police acted on a complaint by a Bajrang Dal member and arrested a pastor and his associate for allegedly converting members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) to Christianity, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice directing the Ghaziabad district magistrate to conduct a thorough inquiry into the allegations against the associate, Premchand Jatav, and his family.
'The complainants alleged that Shri Premchand and his family, who were recently arrested by the Ghaziabad Police under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, have continued to hold Scheduled Caste (SC) status and avail SC-specific government benefits despite having converted to Christianity,' read the notice issued on Thursday.
The two accused, Pastor Vinod Kunjumon (50) and Premchand Jatav (66), were arrested on June 15 following a complaint by a Bajrang Dal member, Prabal Gupta.
The NHRC bench, presided by Priyank Kanoongo, taking cognizance of the matter under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, directed the district magistrate to submit an action taken report within 15 days.
'The allegations made in the complaint prima facie seem to be serious violations of the human rights of the victim,' read the notice.
It added, 'The complainants requested the NHRC to launch an inquiry, revoke fraudulent SC certificates in the case, and conduct a broader audit of similar instances…'
When contacted, Ghaziabad District Magistrate Deepak Meena said the matter will be investigated. 'We have 15 days to submit a report. We will soon set up an inquiry into the matter,' he added.
Neetika Jha is a Correspondent with The Indian Express. She covers crime, health, environment as well as stories of human interest, in Noida, Ghaziabad and western UP. When not on the field she is probably working on another story idea. On weekends, she loves to read fiction over a cup of coffee. The Thursday Murder club, Yellow Face and Before the Coffee Gets Cold were her recent favourites. She loves her garden as much as she loves her job. She is an alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. ... Read More
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