Gospel for Asia native missionary Chandran Paranjoy remains confined to a jail cell in Chhattisgarh, India, after a judge denied his release on bail. The judge had verbally consented to Chandran’s release during a court session on October 16. But after some anti-Christian extremists threatened the judge, he decided not to issue the binding, written order for the missionary to be set free.
The local police arrested Chandran on October 5 while he was conducting a prayer meeting. A group of anti-Christian extremists had falsely accused him of paying people money to convert to Christianity, and insulting other religions.Many people have received Christ’s love through Chandran’s ministry in his area of Chhattisgarh. He established a church where 50 people regularly worship. He also leads Bible studies for two smaller groups in the area.
The local police arrested Chandran on October 5 while he was conducting a prayer meeting . A group of anti-Christian extremists had falsely accused him of paying people money to convert to Christianity, and insulting other religions. Chhattisgarh has an anti-conversion law in place, and the extremists took advantage of it to cause trouble for Chandran’s ministry. He has been in jail ever since, and local GFA leaders can only visit him once a week.
GFA district leaders have been in continual contact with the local government about the situation and are trying to secure Chandran’s release. They are scheduled to appeal to a higher court on October 23 in an attempt to overturn this most recent ruling.
District leaders request prayer that the court will release Chandran on bail when they appeal next week. They also ask for prayer for Chandran and his family, that they would not become discouraged during this difficult time.
