by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Police in India’s Uttar Pradesh state raided a house church last month, arresting the pastor and detaining him for several weeks on suspicion of converting Hindus to Christianity, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Uttar Pradesh is one of 12 Indian states to have enacted harsh anti-conversion laws that are frequently abused by Hindu extremists to harass and persecute Christians. Hundreds of churches have been shut down in Uttar Pradesh in the last three years and, according to ICC, life has become increasingly difficult for believers there.
The Uttar Pradesh house church had been in the middle of a Sunday service in early October, when police arrived and arrested its leader, Pastor Chotelal, and four other male congregants, ICC said. The police also confiscated Bibles, the PA system, and the pulpit as evidence. After interrogating them for hours, the four men were released the same day, but Pastor Chotelal was detained for over a month.
Despite facing challenges by the authorities, Chotel has served as a pastor in his village for over 30 years; an average of 100 people gather in his home to worship God on Sundays. “Almost daily, police come to my house to check if I am involved in conducting prayers,” Pastor Chotelal told ICC. “I have had to shut down many worship services in every church that I oversee in the area. However, through it all, God has been good to us.”
Speaking about his time in the jail, Pastor Chotelal said, “I met eight other Christians who were being held for the same reasons, and it was a great time to extend mutual encouragement and counsel to one another. I was also able to witness to inmates of other faith backgrounds and give them Bibles.”
Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, India ranks 11th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.