Indian authorities arrest Christian teen over allegations of making anti-Hindu comments on Facebook

A Christian teenager in northern India was arrested and jailed for 12 days after he was accused of posting anti-Hindu comments on Facebook.

Sandeep Kumar, 18, was arrested on Aug. 23 after members of the Hindu group Rudra Sena in his home area of Kasganj District filed a complaint with the police over anti-Hindu comments that appeared on a Facebook account in his name.

Kasganj District police charged Kumar, who was christened Karan Anthony, with "promoting enmity between classes," which is punishable with three years' imprisonment and/or a fine, and "publishing or transmitting obscene material," which is also punishable by three years' imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 rupees (US$7,725).

Kumar, a student of agricultural sciences at the University of Allahabad, denied the allegations and insisted that he had not used Facebook in months.

"I did not make any posts on Facebook. It was my good friend who falsely framed me by joining hands with Rudra Sena activists," Kumar told Morning Star News.

He said that he had deactivated his Facebook account after his friend and other classmates started sending abusive comments whenever he posted something about Jesus.

His father noted that the chief complainant, Sathin Gaur, was a former classmate and friend of Kumar.

The 18-year-old student said that his Hindu friends had been targeting him long before his arrest because they know that his father is a pastor.

"Before this Facebook row, they got me into trouble twice. They beat me severely, alleging, 'You are Christian, you are from low caste,'" he recounted.

While in police custody, Kumar discovered a fake Facebook account that had been used to post abusive anti-Hindu comments in his name.

He told the authorities that the Facebook account was not his and insisted that he was not aware of it because he was focusing on his studies and he had been spending most of his time with his Christian friends.

Kumar, who is currently out on bail, said that he did not receive anything to eat on the first two days of his detainment.

"I knelt down and prayed a day after I was presented before the court," the student recounted. "When I was in jail, every day I was spending time in prayer; the other prisoners did not understand what was going on, they asked me many questions like, 'What is this you are doing, why are you knelt, what are you murmuring?' It was an opportunity the Lord had given me to share the gospel with them," he continued.

The student recalled that the other inmates were happy to hear about Christ, and he even invited him to attend services in his church. Despite his ordeal, he said that he has forgiven his accusers and that he prays for them every day.

Attorney Suresh Sahu, who represented Kumar before the district's Criminal Magistrate Court, said that the authorities are continuing to investigate the case.

Kumar further noted that local media have published false reports that his father and other members of his family are guilty of forcible conversion.

Although India's national constitution guarantees freedom of religion, anti-conversion laws are currently in effect in six states, namely Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh.

India has been ranked 15th on Open Doors' 2017 World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the most persecution.