Police in Moradabad district said they tacked Anokhe Singh down in Jograjpur village after a complaint filed by RSS worker Gaurav Gupta. Gupta accused the preacher of “luring” villagers, sweetening the deal with promises of state employment for converts and even a “beautiful bride.”
Under Uttar Pradesh’s law that bans “unlawful conversion,” the case was registered on Sunday. The authorities alleged criminal intimidation and intentional insult, citing sections 351(2) and 352 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The police now want to trace Singh’s funding stream and the playbook he follows. The arrest, they say, aims to clamp the phenomenon of “pro‑conversion” networking that some say is growing in rural pockets.
Truth is, the idea that converting a faith can come with material perks isn’t new. The state’s anti‑conversion act, imposed in 2015, was meant to protect families from coercion. Still, critics argue the law fuels religious tension, giving preachers a pretext to claim that spirits or state machinery reward conversion. Police insist that Abbas’s step was a blatant violation of the law.
Meanwhile, local residents trade wary glances as church doors open and a preacher offers a “golden ticket” into state jobs. The “module” sometimes circulates quietly among pastors, telling new believers there will be fewer hurdles to climb once they join. In the village, a pregnant mother looks on, doubting whether the promises are rehearsed or real.
Officials want more evidence than a simple complaint. They’re scrutinizing Singh’s network: where he gets his sermon material from, what financial backing fuels his travels, and how he scales his outreach. That scrutiny brings a header into the broader debate over religion, commerce and civic integrity in rural India.
But as the police dig deeper, the question lingers: will a preacher’s promise of government employment spoil genuine belief, or just deepen distrust of the law that claims to protect faith? Only time, and a few court papers, will tell.
