MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the state government to clarify its stand on the arrest of a US-techie for attending Chistian prayers in Bhiwandi, Thane. The techie and the organisers of the prayers were accused of saying anti-Hindu slurs at the gathering.
A division-bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad was hearing the petition of a techie, James Watson, a global Information Technology contractor who worked with a company in Pune and lived in Thane. When the Bhiwandi police arrested him for “hurting religious sentiments and carrying out inhuman religious practices” amongst other things, he filed a petition at the high court that he had merely been invited by his friends for a prayer gathering.
Watson’s petition said that during the prayers, members of Bajrang Dal barged into the private residence and threatened the people gathered there. The petition added that Ravindra Bhurkut, 27, a Bajrang Dal member then lodged a complaint with the Bhiwandi police station, based on which an FIR was registered against them.
Bhurkut told the police that on Friday morning around 11:30am, he saw some people preaching about Jesus Christ and Christianity to around 30–35 people, including men, women, and children, in an area opposite Manoj Govind Kolha’s house.
Bhurkut said, “They were spreading the message of Christianity to the people gathered there, but were also saying that the Hindu religion was based on blind faith, that there are no other gods, and that one can attain happiness and prosperity by converting to Christianity.”
Based on Bhurkut’s complaint the police registered an FIR against Sainath Sarpe, James Watson, and Manoj Kolha, alleging that they made statements hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by claiming the religion was based on superstition.
The FIR alleged that the organisers had said that all diseases can be cured by consuming wine (a common offering during the Christian sacrament of Communion), and in the gathering, sick people were shown to be “healed miraculously”.
Bhurkut said the accused inquired whether any of the underage girls were suffering from any illness and wrote down the names of four girls on a piece of paper. Bhurkut added that they placed their hands on the girls’ foreheads, and claimed that they had used divine powers to heal them.
The FIR added that Watson, who was here on a business visa, had taken part in the religious gathering without permission of the government and therefore committed an offence under the Immigration and Foreigners Act.