Lucknow/Patna: Over 70 Hindus have allegedly converted to Christianity in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. There are also reports of Hindus converting to Christianity from Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur, Bihar.

The local leaders of the BJP are reportedly unhappy over the reports and the party has sent a seven-member fact finding team to Bhagalpur.

In Uttar Pradesh, one person, belonging to an organisation called India Hope Centre, has been arrested in connection with conversion of Hindus and the local officials are probing the incident that took place two days ago.

A local official said that activists of India Hope Centre were active in Kamlapuri village of Uttar Pradesh and were attempting to lure villagers to embrace Christianity.

DM Satyendra Kumar said on Thursday that it has not been confirmed if the conversions took place. “We have sent a team of officials to the village in question to verify the allegations,” he said but added that “India Hope Center activities had picked up in the area since the past few months, especially after the floods”.

In Bihar, the five families who reportedly converted to Christianity have rejected the allegations of forced conversion. They said they willingly chose the path of Christianity. But the people of Bhagalpur feel that since these five families were reeling under acute poverty they were lured by the local church.