Pastors imprisoned on false 'conversion' charges after neighbor uninvited to kid's party lobs allegations

Six pastors and another Christian in India have begun serving their five-year prison sentences under Madhya Pradesh's "Freedom of Religion" law, commonly known as the state's anti-conversion law, two years after they were falsely accused at a child's birthday party, sources said.

The Christians were convicted on June 12 of "promoting enmity, hatred, or disharmony between different religious groups," "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings" under the Indian Penal Code, and luring people to convert under the state's anti-conversion law against fraudulent or forced conversion.

“By entangling these six pastors in a false case, opponents have succeeded in shutting down churches at six locations, scattering the believers and instilling fear in them,” a source told Morning Star News.

Pastors Santosh Paraste, 21, Sanjay Markam, 20, Amit Kumar, 24, Pramod Singh, 28, Karan Singh Maravi, 40, and Chhot Singh Dhurve, 49, all residents of Diwari village, along with Jeet Singh, 48, another Christian of Pipariya village, Dindori District, were arrested on a complaint by Angad Singh Maravi.

An anti-Christian neighbor who disrupted the birthday party they were attending in 2024, Angad Singh Maravi, is a follower of traditional indigenous religion who accused them of luring residents to convert. Some reports have said that a crowd of 100 to 150 people surrounded the house to threaten and intimidate the Christians. 

Justice Shiv Kumar Kaushal, Second Additional Sessions Judge, Dindori (M.P.), sentenced the seven Christians to five years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 rupees (roughly $1,000, depending on the exchange rate) and sent them to District Jail, Dindori, to serve their terms, on June 12.

First Information Report No. 210/2024 in the case was filed on April 28, 2024.

On the day of their arrest, they were attending a birthday party for the 5-year-old daughter of Suday Singh Maravi, along with other villagers. Suday Singh Maravi told the trial court that he had not invited Angad Singh Maravi to the event.

Suday Singh Maravi testified that on April 27, 2024, he phoned police after Angad Singh Maravi called villagers offering them liquor, caused a commotion at the birthday party and threatened to beat the Christians present.

The police, on arrival, arrested the seven Christians instead of Angad Singh Maravi.

In his complaint, Angad Singh Maravi stated that he lives in the neighborhood of his cousin, Suday Singh Maravi, and his family. He alleged that the Christians were repeatedly visiting the village and "offering allurement" to residents to convert.

After Pastor Karan Singh Maravi and five companions arrived at Suday Singh Maravi's house on three motorcycles on the evening of the birthday party, Angad Singh Maravi claimed to have overheard them saying in Hindi, "Start praying in the name of Jesus and adopt Christianity. You will also get money."

According to Angad Singh Maravi, village head Angad Banwasi, sub-village head Dinesh Rajput and his sister-in-law, Matiya Bai, had also come near Suday Singh Maravi’s house at that time, and allegedly heard Pastor Karan Singh Maravi and his companions telling Suday Singh Maravi, “Join us in Christianity. You will get a lot of money and wealth, your poverty will be removed, and all your troubles will go away. ... If you people do not accept Christianity, then I will trouble you so much along with my companions that one day you will be forced to join us, and you will see how long your god helps you.”

Suday Singh Maravi explicitly testified in court that no “Christian religion propaganda was going on in his house.”

A brother of one of the accused, speaking on the condition of anonymity, expressed shock over the judgment.

“When the host himself is denying that he or his wife was lured in any way at the birthday celebration, how can the court believe an outsider’s statement, who wasn’t an official invitee to the party and was actually a troublemaker to the host?” he said.

The six pastors were arrested on April 28, 2024, and sent to jail. Jeet Singh was arrested the following day and also jailed.

“Jeet Singh is a professing Christian, and his family was the first to come to Christ in Pipariya village, about seven years ago,” a source who requested anonymity told Morning Star News. “Angad Singh intentionally targeted Jeet Singh and named him in the FIR because of his [Angad Singh’s] anti-Christian sentiments against Christians.”

Pastor Kumar and Jeet Singh were released on bail on May 6, 2024, while Pastors Paraste, Markam, Singh, Maravi and Dhurve followed three days later on May 9.

The charge sheet was filed against the seven Christians on Dec. 31, 2024, and the charges were framed on Nov. 26, 2025.

“The host of the birthday party [Suday Singh Maravi] is willing to give a statement before any court that these pastors were in his house at his invitation and that there was no forced or fraudulent conversion taking place in his house,” said a source who spoke with Suday Singh Maravi.

All six pastors were trained ministers and led congregations in different villages of the district.

A convicted person can be released on bail pending an appeal challenging the verdict, but the bail amounts are huge.

“The total bail amount is 700,000 rupees [$7,300], which is a huge sum of money for these poor families to arrange. With this judgement, their families are shattered, and these men were the sole breadwinners,” Rakesh Rajdwar, a Christian leader from Dhindori, who is helping the seven families, told Morning Star News. “Once the money is arranged, we will apply for their bail.”

Theirs is the second case in the state of Christians convicted under Madhya Pradesh’s anti-conversion law. The first conviction was from the Sagar District Court in March 2024, involving Ramesh Ahirwar and his wife, Sakshi Ahirwar.

India is ranked No. 12 on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the countries where it's most difficult to be a Christian, up from 31st in 2013 before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.

This article was originally published at Morning Star News