Mecheda Erupts in Protest: Hindus Take to the Streets Against Alleged Deceitful Mass-Conversion Drive by Punjab-Based Missions Led by Convicted Rapist Pastor Baljinder Singh and Pastor Ankur Narula

Mecheda in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district witnessed a large street protest organised by the Bajrang Dal and other local Hindu organisations on 27th September. The protestors demanded that authorities investigate what they describe as an organised campaign of deceptive proselytisation being conducted through two Pentecostal ministries, The Church of Glory and Wisdom and The Church of Signs and Wonders. The regional branch of the “The Church of Glory and Wisdom” is located in the Regal Guest House of Mecheda and the Church of Signs and Wonders has its local branch in the Star Village Resort Private Limited near the Kolaghat Railway Station.

Regional Branch of The Church of Glory and Wisdom

Pastor Baljinder Singh, the leader of The Church of Glory and Wisdom, was convicted in a rape case and sentenced to life imprisonment until death in 2025. The Church of Signs and Wonders, headed by Punjab-based pastor Ankur Narula, has also faced serious scrutiny. In April 2023, the Income Tax Department conducted simultaneous raids at more than a dozen premises linked to Narula’s ministry in Punjab in connection with financial irregularities like possession of unaccounted for foreign funds. More recently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court sought the government’s response to a PIL concerning allegations of conversion through inducement and deceptive practices.

According to protesters and local residents, the problem begins under the respectable-sounding banner of “healing.” A person struggling with illness, debt or family difficulties is invited to a prayer meeting. The attraction of free or inexpensive treatment, medicines, groceries, educational assistance or other forms of help is often irresistible. Prayer is then integrated into the supposed healing process. Participants are encouraged to attend increasingly frequent gatherings, including evening meetings where Christian belief and conversion are normalised step by step.

Reports of alleged conversion activity operating under the banner of “faith healing” and “free treatment” had begun surfacing in the Mecheda region as early as 2023. A group of 50–60 villagers travelling to pray to Jesus for relief from illness is a well-documented example.

According to local residents and representatives of the Hindu organisations that led the 27 September protests, these two Pentecostal Ministries are organising two or more “prayer meetings” every month, with thousands of people attending in hope of miracles, cures, employment and financial benifits.

The West Bengal government should investigate the operations of both of these ministries independently and transparently. Authorities should examine whether medical claims are fraudulent, whether material assistance is conditional upon religious participation, whether vulnerable households are being systematically targeted, whether foreign or domestic funding is being properly accounted for and whether any conversion has occurred through force, fraud or unlawful inducement. There should be no immunity for religious organisations merely because their activities are packaged as charity, prayer or miraculous healing. If proven guilty, justice must be swift and exemplary.