Muzaffarnagar: In Village Where Large-Scale Racket Was Busted, Sewa Nyaya Utthan Holds Awareness Against Miracle-Healing, Unlawful Conversions

Muzaffarnagar: Following recent police action on an unlawful religious conversion racket in Jharauda village of Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, a team from Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation (SNU) visited the village to conduct a ground assessment and run an awareness campaign among local residents.

The objective of the campaign was to help residents recognise the tactics used by conversion rackets, avoid falling into such traps and report such activities to police.

On 5 July, Mansoorpur Police reached the village after receiving information about the unlawful religious conversion activity. Twelve individuals, including seven men and five women, were taken into custody from the premises. The police also reported recovering three copies of the Bible and certain identity cards from the location.

Based on a complaint, an FIR was registered against 14 named accused under Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021. The investigation is ongoing, and the Senior Superintendent of Police stated that further legal action and arrests would follow in accordance with the findings of the investigation.

The Foundation’s team interacted with villagers and distributed awareness pamphlets explaining methods used by conversion networks across the country.

An awareness session was also held for residents, covering the reported patterns adopted by such networks and introducing participants to the concept of crypto conversion as discussed in public discourse. Residents were encouraged to remain alert and to report any suspected unlawful activity to the appropriate authorities through lawful means.

The awareness session also highlighted the legal position governing Scheduled Caste status after religious conversion. Participants were informed that the Supreme Court of India has, in a series of decisions interpreting the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, held that persons professing Christianity are not entitled to claim Scheduled Caste status.

The session further referred to the Allahabad High Court’s order in December 2025 directing the Uttar Pradesh Government to take action against persons who had converted to Christianity but continued to avail benefits meant for Scheduled Castes. The High Court observed that extending Scheduled Caste reservation benefits to such individuals amounts to a “fraud on the Constitution” and is contrary to the constitutional framework governing reservation policies.

Given the village’s significant Scheduled Caste population, the session also covered constitutional and legal provisions relating to Scheduled Castes.

Members of the village Pradhan’s team and several local residents extended full cooperation during the visit.

SNU will continue to monitor developments in the case and continue similar awareness campaigns in villages affected by unlawful conversion activity.