Sheela Devi (45) of Dubey ka Purva village, Uttar Pradesh state, was released on bail on 14 October after 86 days in jail on false accusations of “fraudulent conversion”. Since her release she has been receiving treatment for cancer, and has spoken to Morning Star News about her time in jail.
Sheela was admitted to Kachhwa Christian Hospital in Uttar Pradesh on 20 October and after tests doctors confirmed cancer of the uterus on 21 November. She underwent a hysterectomy on 26 November.
The mother of three adult sons and a daughter, Sheela led a fellowship in her home for two years, attended by between thirty and 35 people, but villagers objected to the fellowship and reported Sheela to police, who issued a warning. She said she could not stop the gatherings, telling Morning Star News: “I told the Lord, if I stop this church fellowship, these people would scatter here and there, get lonelier, and walk in their sickness. They find peace and healing when they come to church.”
During Sunday worship on 20 July a large group of police entered the house, interrogated Sheela and alleged that she was fraudulently converting people. “They confiscated all the Bibles, the cross, song books, a Ten Commandments poster that hung on my wall and the amplifier,” said Sheela, who is illiterate. “They took my cell phone, which was my only source, to listen to God’s Word.”
Officers detained her and seven men, six of them first-time visitors to the church. Police registered a case against them for “common intention” under Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law and under India’s criminal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. They were presented before a magistrate and sent to Pratapgarh jail.
“They called me the one who converts’”
Sheela was sent to the women’s barrack, which houses 55 prisoners, and faced ill-treatment and discrimination. “A murderer was treated better than me. They called me ‘the one who converts,’” she said. The jailer often tried to persuade her to return to her Hindu faith.
Sheela said the other inmates were very distressed and wept day and night. “Each woman in jail missed her family, especially her children, but the worst affected were those who had stopped getting visitors,” she said. “They thought that their families had forgotten them, and that they belonged nowhere now.”
She explained that having a family member in jail puts a financial burden on relatives, who must bring 5,000 to 10,000 rupees (€48 to €96) to the jail every week. “With this money the member in prison would purchase their toiletries, food, fruit and snack,” she said. “The jail food does not taste good and is very low on quality. Half-cooked rice, watery lentil soup and half burnt chapattis is what we were given.”
At first Sheela was the only Christian in jail but a week later she was joined by four Christian women who had been arrested under the anti-conversion laws. “Initially when I saw the sufferings of the women inside the jail, I broke down completely. I was so overwhelmed with their constant crying and hopelessness, but then the Lord sent four believer women to the jail,” Sheela said. “I was very encouraged to meet them, and we started to pray together.”
Sheela’s son visited her regularly – she said, “I am so grateful that my son continued to visit me thrice a week and would give me weekly money to pay for my needs.” His support meant she did not have to work in the jail, whereas the four other Christians lacked resources and had to work. They were given “the dirtiest jobs of cleaning the jail toilets because they were Christians,” she said.
Sheela’s health deteriorated from constant bleeding and poor nutrition, and eventually she was not able to move her hands and feet. “I became immobile and could not stand or walk; I lost my speech,” she said. “The guards on duty instructed everybody including the Christian women to maintain distance from me. They knew I was dying and feared I might have a disease that could infect other inmates.”
Lying on a mattress on the floor, she prayed, “Don’t let me die here. If it is my time to go, let it be outside the prison. If I die inside the jail, your name will be maligned. They have seen me pray to you all the time. They will scorn your name, if I die.”
As she prayed, she saw “the light of the Lord” shining on her and felt strengthened so that she could not only stand but also walk out to the garden where the other women were working. “Looking at me, the women whispered and said to each other: ‘We left her to die; she is a walking miracle.’ I told them that the Lord had healed me,” she said.
On 24 August Sheela was lying on her mattress after finishing her early-morning prayers when she sensed a very bright light. She told Morning Star News, “I opened my eyes to see from where is that brightness coming, and I saw Jesus, who stood at the gate. I slithered on the floor, dragging myself towards Him. The radiance of His light was so bright that I could not see His face. I spoke to Him for a very long time. This was the first time I saw the Lord.”
“They all loved me so much”
Sheela described the months that followed as a precious time, saying, “I have received more love in prison than outside.” Some inmates asked her to pray for them after one of the Christians obtained bail. Then another Christian was bailed, and more women started to come for prayers. The attitude of the guards and inmates changed completely towards Sheela.
“Many women got bailed out, many were healed. Policewomen on duty got healed. They discussed their family problems with me and requested me to pray for them,” she said. “My inmates would press my legs to give me rest; the guards would bring home cooked food from their homes for me. They all loved me so much that I have not received as much love even in my own house.”
An inmate who had been in jail for 16 months had given up hope of ever being bailed, but after Sheela prayed for her she began attending prayers every day and was granted bail on 13 October. She danced through the jail, proclaiming joyfully, “Jesus Christ has bailed me out”.
Most women in jail had never heard about Christ, and Sheela said that when she told them about him they “experienced a lot of peace”.
The day she obtained bail, she told God that she was available and wanted him to continue to use her to change the lives of her fellow inmates. “I told the Lord my work here is not over and asked Him to extend my stay,” she said. Her case papers got misplaced after the court ordered her bail and reached the jail only 15 days later, giving her more time to minister.
Since she was still unwell and jail had been physically challenging, staff from the Evangelical Fellowship of India took Sheela to hospital for a check-up, which led to her cancer diagnosis. Still recovering in hospital, she requests prayers for herself and for all the women in the jail, and she gives thanks that she was able to share the redemptive power of Christ with the prisoners.
“Suffering is included in the package, if we want to follow the Lord,” she said. “So, I am very grateful to God for the initial suffering in jail, for the joy that I experienced the next two months and now for the successful surgery.”
(Morning Star News)
Photo: Morning Star News