Complaint against Indian godman filed by Christian group

A police complaint has been lodged by a Christian organisation in northern India against Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, a Hindu godman, for allegedly making unfounded remarks regarding religious conversion. In Amritsar, the Sikh capital of Punjab state, Jatinder Gaurav of the Global Christian Action Committee lodged a police complaint against Shastri. According to Gaurav, Shastri singled out the Christian community and disparaged them with a word.

He insisted that the godman be the subject of a police report and that the godman be sued. Known for his rabble-rousing, Shastri, the chief priest of Bageshwar Dham, asserted that although Hindus were being persuaded to convert, the “evil forces” would prevent them from doing so.

A specific term he used to refer to them offended Christian groups, so they demanded an apology. Shastri declined and requested that the state of Punjab enact legislation prohibiting conversion “because innocent people are being exploited.” According to Gaurav, the godman targets the Christian community everywhere he goes in an attempt to disturb the peace in Punjab. The vicar general of the Jalandhar diocese, Father Mathew Kokkandam, stated that Shastri’s assertions regarding religious conversions are untrue. Pastor Jaspal Mashi, who leads a Pentecostal church in the Amritsar area, claimed that Shastri was using his visit to Punjab to further his political agenda by dividing people along religious lines in order to win over Hindu voters before the general election of the following year.