Ten people, including a pastor, have been arrested for alleged involvement in illegal religious conversion in Uttar Pradesh state's Nanpara area, police said on Monday.
Nanpara Deputy Superintendent of Police Rahul Pandey told Indian media that the accused pastor, identified as Baburam, had been luring poor villagers to convert to Christianity in Siddhanpurwa village by promising to cure their diseases, including cancer.
The arrest was made on Sunday after a case was registered against 19 people on charges of unlawful conversion.
Efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused, Pandey said.
Several incidents have come to light in the past, raising alarm about the rise in illegal religious conversions in the state.
In December last year, a pastor was arrested for allegedly enticing scheduled caste Indians to convert to Christianity in Uttar Pradesh state's Sohna village.
A similar incident was reported in the Sitapur district on 21 December last year, in which two Indians and four Brazilians had allegedly organized a programme in Shahbajpur village to lure locals to switch religions.
In October, Uttar Pradesh police lodged a complaint against nine people for carrying out forced conversions to Christianity in Meerut city.