No bail for Ghaziabad pastor, aide arrested for ‘religious conversion'
Police had arrested two men, pastor Vinod Kunj Mohan (50) and Premchand Jatav (66), following a complaint filed by Bajrang Dal member Prabal Gupta on June 15. He had alleged that the pastor carried out religious conversions at Jatav's home.
During Tuesday's hearing, Ghaziabad Additional Session Judge Rohit Aggarwal said that there is no relevant ground for releasing the pastor.
'Keeping in view all the facts and circumstances of the case and in the light of the gravity of the crime and various documentary and oral evidence collected during the investigation against the accused, Vinod Kunj Mohan, there is no relevant ground for releasing the applicant on bail,' read the order.
'Accordingly, the first bail application of the applicant is liable to be dismissed on merits,' it added. While rejecting Premchand's bail plea, too, the court said that there were no relevant grounds for his release.
The two were booked under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (threats involving death), 352 (breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
During the hearing, Mohan's lawyer had submitted before the court that his client had never converted anyone. 'There is no proof of his involvement, and the complainant, who is an active member of the Bajrang Dal, has falsely implicated him in the case,' he had told the court.
'The FIR is to gain political benefits,' he had added.
The lawyer had further submitted that no recovery of any item was made from the place where the alleged conversions took place. 'When anyone is converted, writings and readings are involved… but nothing was found,' the petitioner had told the court.
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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