- The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 seeks to stop religious conversions by use of force or through allurement.
NE NEWS SERVICE
VYARA, APRIL 22
A couple and their three sons were arrested on Friday for allegedly attempting to convert two tribal women to Christianity in Gujarat’s Tapi district, police said.
Rakesh Vasava, his wife Rekha, sons Yohan, Yakub and Rasin, residents of Vyara town, were booked under IPC sections 342 (illegal confinement), 417 (punishment for cheating), 120b (criminal conspiracy) and under relevant provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, inspector Hitendra Sinh Gohil of the Vyara police station said.
The Act seeks to stop religious conversions by use of force or through allurement.
“An FIR was registered on Thursday night. The family follows Christianity and has been accused of trying to forcibly convert two local tribal women to their faith by performing some rituals at their house between Wednesday and Thursday,” Gohil said.
In her complaint, one of the women, a 20-year-old student of BCom, claimed that she was in a relationship with Yohan Vasava since the last three years and they live in the same town and go to the same school.
As both families knew about the relationship, the complainant and Yohan Vasava used to visit each other’s homes, the FIR stated.
On Wednesday morning, Yohan Vasava called the complainant to his house claiming that his father wanted to meet her. However, as soon as she reached their house, Rakesh Vasava allegedly forcibly cut off a sacred thread from her wrist and switched off her mobile phone, it said.
“At the time, Rasin Vasava’s girlfriend had also arrived at the Vasava residence. The family members forcibly applied oil on the legs and forehead of both the girls and tied their hair with a piece of cloth,” the official said.
Rakesh Vasava told the girls that they are “impure” and a ritual will be performed to “purify” them, Gohil said, citing the FIR.
When the complainant started crying and urged them to let her go home, Rakesh Vasava told the women they will have to stay here for the next four days. He also claimed that “Jesus had deposited Rs 2 lakh” in his bank account so that they can buy mobile phones and car, the official said.
Rakesh Vasava then started a ritual after lighting a candle and it went on till 5 am on Thursday, he said.
After reaching home, the woman (the complainant) narrated her ordeal to family members, following which a complaint was lodged against the Vasavas on Thursday night, Gohil said.
