Amravati: A court in Maharashtra’s Amravati district on Wednesday granted bail to a Kerala-based pastor and others who were arrested in connection with an alleged forced religious conversion case, officials said.

The accused include Sudheer William, a CSI pastor and a native of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, and his wife, Jasmin, along with 11 others. Bail was granted with conditions by a court in Warud, Amravati district, a day after their arrest by Maharashtra Police.

The group was taken into custody on Tuesday evening following a complaint alleging that they had attempted to lure villagers with money to convert to Christianity.

According to police, the complaint was filed by Lakshman Shede, a resident of Warud, about 80 km from Amravati. He alleged that five to six people had gathered at the house of local resident Ritesh Bondre on December 30, erected a pandal, and preached Christianity to villagers, offering money to persuade them to change their faith.

Based on the complaint, police from the Benoda police station visited the spot, detained the accused for questioning, and later formally arrested them. Those arrested included Bondre; Anandkumar Karri of Nagpur; Sudheer William, who has been residing in Nagpur for the past few years; Vikram Sande of Nagpur; and four women.

The accused were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and 302 (uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings). They were produced before a local court, which granted them bail.