Swedish tourist held for allegedly trying to convert people in Assam

Dibrugarh: The three tourists from Sweden, who were detained for participating in a prayer meeting to allegedly convert people to Christianity, were sent to Delhi from Assam’s Dibrugarh on Thursday, police said.

Marcus Bloom, Hanna Bloom and Susanna Hakansson were taken into custody on Wednesday after the police initiated a suo moto case for alleged violation of visa rules, they said.

“They allegedly violated the Indian tourist visa rules by attending the prayer meet at a tea garden in Ghinai in Namrup police station area with the intention to convert the local people”, Dibrugarh’s Superintendent of Police Shwetank Mishra said.

They were produced before a court, which directed the police to arrange for their deportation.

“They were fined $500 each, which they paid to the district authorities”, police said.

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They were kept at a guest house since Wednesday night under security and sent to Delhi by a domestic flight on Thursday evening, Mishra said.

“The Swedish embassy will arrange their stay for the night in Delhi, and they will fly to Stockholm on Friday”, he said.

The three-day prayer meeting was organised by the United Church Forum with due permission from the district administration.

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