American national among two arrested for trying to convert people by offering financial assistance

Pimpri resident Sunny Dhanani, 27, who belongs to the Sindhi community, lodged the First Information Report (FIR) in this case at the Pimpri Police Station Sunday night.
The police have booked them under sections 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). They have also invoked sections 14 (b) and (c) of the Foreigners Act against the American national in this case.

As per the FIR, the accused allegedly approached Dhanani at his residence in Pimpri at around 11.30 am Sunday. They allegedly told Dhanani that he would get “happiness, peace, wealth, and good mental health” if he embraced Christianity.

They also allegedly claimed that Jesus Christ is the only God, while other Gods are just stories, the FIR stated. It added that the accused allegedly offered financial assistance to the complainant if he accepted christianity. Dhanani then approached the police and filed a complaint against the accused for allegedly hurting his religious sentiments.

Ashok Kadlag, Senior Police Inspector, said further investigation is underway. Kadlag said the probe so far shows that the American citizen has been coming to India since 2016 on tourist and business visas. “But he was not found doing any business activity here,” said Kadlag.

Police sources said this time the American citizen came on a business visa on July 5, saying he was associated with a textile business. But a probe revealed he was not doing any business, thus causing violation of his visa norms. A probe so far revealed that he visited India about seven times since 2016, so his details are being sought from the Bureau of Immigration for further investigation, police said.

A team of Pimpri police produced the American citizen along with Steven Kadam of Pimpri before a local court on Monday. Police inspector Vijayanand Patil, the investigation officer of this case said, “The court has remanded the two accused to police custody for two days. Further probe is on.”