Special SOP to be formulated to curb the hidden menace of religious conversions and fraudulent godmen in Mumbai local trains

• Assurance from Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam to the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti

• Joint meeting to be convened soon

Mr Sunil Ghanwat and Mr Satish Sonar submitting a memorandum to Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam (right)

Mumbai, 25 June – The State Government will formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to permanently curb the covert religious conversion activities of Christian missionaries and the advertisements of fraudulent godmen promoting superstition in Mumbai’s suburban local trains, Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam assured a delegation of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. He also said that a joint meeting of the Mumbai Police and the railway administration would soon be convened to formulate effective measures against these anti-religious and socially harmful activities.

Local trains have become a hub for Christian missionaries and fraudulent godmen !

Pamphlets carrying messages such as “Do you need a lifeline?” and “Jesus is the only God” are being distributed by Christian missionaries in air-conditioned local trains operating on the Panvel–CSMT (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) route and on other suburban train services. Through such campaigns, a large-scale network is allegedly attempting to influence Hindu passengers and convert them.

Similarly, local trains on the Central, Western and Harbour lines are plastered with advertisements making false claims that serious illnesses such as cancer can be cured through prayer, as well as misleading advertisements promoting “Bengali Baba”, “100% Vashikaran” and similar claims, thereby financially and mentally exploiting innocent passengers and encouraging superstition.

Taking serious note of these anti-social and anti-religious activities, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti had earlier submitted a memorandum to the Director General of Police and the General Manager of Central Railway, demanding that criminal cases be registered against the masterminds behind these activities. The Samiti had also warned that it would launch an intensified public agitation if the authorities failed to take concrete action within 15 days.

Home Minister immediately accepts the Samiti’s demands

Against this backdrop, a delegation comprising Mr Sunil Ghanwat, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh Organiser of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Mr Satish Sonar and Mr Ravindra Nalawade met Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam on 25 June and apprised him of the seriousness of the issue.

Acknowledging that decisive action was necessary to permanently eliminate activities that had continued for several years, the Minister directed the concerned authorities to immediately begin preparing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) after conducting a detailed study of the matter.

Demands submitted by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti to the Minister of State for Home

1. Instead of merely taking superficial action, the Railways should launch a WhatsApp helpline and increase the deployment of plainclothes police personnel to dismantle the entire network.

2. The Cyber Police should investigate the telephone numbers and websites mentioned in these advertisements. Criminal cases should be registered directly against the fraudulent godmen, the organisations concerned and the printing presses publishing such advertisements, and their licences should be permanently cancelled.

3. The Railway administration should publish a white paper detailing the action taken over the past five years against such unauthorised and fraudulent advertisements and place it before the public.