Mainashree Colony, Dewas City (M.P.): On 12.09.2011, Pastor Ramesh Manduwey (35), his wife Sumantri (28), and Pastors Ashok Aherwal (26), Balu Singh Dewda (25), and a number of believers serving the Lord had gathered around 11:00 a.m. at Brother Manish Tiwari’s house in Mainashree Colony for Prayer and Baptism Service. This place is about two kilometers from the Dewas Railway Station and 2 kilometers from the Dewas Bus Stand. On that day,11 believers were to be baptized and they had come from a nearby village called Nagukhedi, which is about 7 kilometers from the Dewas Railway Station. Also, there were about 20 other people attending the prayer service. Conducting of prayer meetings and conventions has been a regular feature at Brother Manish Tiwari’s residence and also there is a special hall for the meetings. Around 12:00 P.M 2 Policemen in civil dress came on a bike to the meeting place followed by 5 RSS workers with sticks and clubs. Some time later, 3 more policemen came in a Jeep. Then they started inquiring as to what was going on there, to which Pastors Ramesh Ashok and Balu explained to them that they had assembled for a prayer meeting and some of them were going to receive the sacrament of baptism. The policemen and the RSS workers then started tackling them alleging that they were involved in forcible conversion of innocent Hindus. One of the policemen caught hold of Mr. Manish Tiwari, the owner of the house, and simply slapped him a couple of times without any provocation.

Some time later, at about 1:30 p.m., the police took Pastor Ramesh, his wife Sumantri, Pastor Balu, Pastor Ashok, Manish Tiwari and the 11 believers who were about to be baptized, to the City Kotwali Dewas police station and began an inquiry individually and separately with all the detainees. The 11 believers told the police that they had asked themselves, of their free will, to be baptized, and there was no pressure or any sort of allurement to become Christians from anybody. They sincerely believe in Christ and they have also received the blessings and a number of favours from Jesus Christ. However, the police, the RSS members and the local Village Sarpanch were not convinced and simply refused to accept their version and continued to pressurize them to lodge a false complaint against Pastor Ramesh and others alleging that they were trying to convert them forcibly. When the believers held on to their Christian faith very firmly in spite of all sorts of pressures and tricks by the police and the Hindu fundamentalists, finally they were released late in the night beyond midnight. But still Pastor Ramesh, his wife, Pastor Ashok and Pastor Balu were asked to come to the police station again on13.09.2011 morning for further inquiry. Please pray for them.