Assam: 2 US nationals held, fined in for allegedly propagating Christianity

Silchar: The Assam Police on Saturday morning detained two US nationals in Assam’s Sonitpur district for allegedly propagating Christianity, officials aware of the matter said.

Police said they were detained following complaints from local residents in the district’s Tezpur area.

Sonitpur superintendent of police (SP) Susanta Biswa Sarma said the duo were fined $500 for their alleged attempt to propagate Christianity without proper permission.

“They were on tourist visas, and as per the provisions, they cannot perform religious activities or propagate religious ideologies. Hence, we called them to the police station and imposed fines of $500 each,” SP Sarma said.

Police, however, did not reveal their names. No case was registered against them, said police.

In October 2022, seven German nationals and three Swedish nationals were detained from Assam’s Golaghat and Dibrugarh district for allegedly flouting visa norms by indulging in missionary activities.

The police took them to Guwahati and later deported them to their country.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma last year appealed to the religious communities to restrain themselves from converting Hindus in the name of providing education and health facilities.

Hindu organisations have claimed that Christian missionaries from different countries visit the northeastern states as tourists, and they propagate Christianity by flouting visa norms.