A pastor was taken into custody in the middle of a Sunday worship service in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on a baseless charge of using inducement to promote religious conversion — and spent three days in custody before being released on bail.
According to Barnabas Aid, a pastor was arrested on Sunday, July 5, 2026, during a worship service in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh — charged with using inducement to promote religious conversion, an accusation framed under the state's freedom of religion law. He remained in custody for three days before being formally charged and released on bail.
The report notes that the pastor's health, already fragile due to a pre-existing condition, worsened during his time in custody — a detail that underscores local believers' concern about detention conditions for vulnerable prisoners, even in short-term arrests like this one.
The arrest happened mid-service, with the pastor removed from the place of worship itself in front of the congregation — a pattern that is becoming increasingly common in states with anti-conversion legislation.
Madhya Pradesh has one of India's oldest "freedom of religion" laws (see the full picture in India in Data and Maps), and cases like this show how these laws play out in practice: a single accusation of "inducement" — a term broad enough to cover ordinary preaching — is enough to turn a Sunday service into the scene of an arrest. Even when the case ends in bail with no conviction, the effect is intimidation: pastors grow wary of leading open gatherings, and congregations learn to associate worship with the risk of a police raid.
The original report does not identify the pastor or the church where the service was held — and this site keeps the same practice, out of respect for the vulnerability of those already at risk.
Pray for the pastor's health to recover after his days in custody, for protection as the case moves forward, and for courage for the congregation who witnessed the arrest mid-service — that fear would not silence worship.
Religious PersecutionA court convicted seven Christians, including pastors from six villages, on charges of "forced conversion" stemming from a birthday party.
Religious FreedomIndia's highest court is reviewing reports of hate speech and vigilante attacks against Christians.
