NGO watchdog Legal Rights Protection Forum has filed a formal complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) against Calvary Ministries, based in Bellampally, Mancherial District, Telangana.
The complaint accuses one Pastor R Praveen Kumar and Ms. Sharon of medical negligence and cruelty towards a young girl in the name of “Miracle Healing.”
“Pastor R Praveen Kumar, President of the Calvary Ministries Trust, and his wife, Ms. Sharon, are organizing massive Miracle Healing shows in Bellampally and Hyderabad in the name of religious prayer meetings. Pastor Praveen Kumar and Sister Sharon are creating a false impression among the people of poor, uneducated and marginal & weaker sections that they can cure any critical medical problems with their prayers, which doctors and medical experts cannot. In this regard, they are arranging a few people who appear during the massive gatherings and give false testimonies that their medical problems were healed with the prayers of Pastor Praveen Kumar. These testimonial videos are being uploaded in their official YouTube channels for publicity.“, the complaint said and referred to a video posted on May 16, 2024, on the official YouTube channel of Pastor Praveen Kumar.
In the video, a mother described taking her critically ill daughter, suffering from kidney failure and under ICU treatment at Niloufer Hospital, Hyderabad, to a Miracle Healing Show organized by Calvary Ministries. Ignoring medical advice, the parents took the girl directly from the ICU to the healing show, where she was allegedly forced to walk during the event.
The video allegedly shows the young girl, who was just brought from the ICU, being subjected to cruelty and forced to walk by Pastor Praveen Kumar and Ms. Sharon. The complaint highlights that this act was video-graphed and uploaded to YouTube, violating the child’s dignity and privacy.
The complaint cites a previous FIR (No: 46/2019) filed on May 25, 2019, against Pastor Praveen Kumar, Ms. Sharon, and others for the death of a 21-year-old due to similar negligence. The deceased had attended a Miracle Healing Show hoping to cure his severe fever, but was prevented from seeking medical help and subsequently died at the church premises.
The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, prohibits advertisements of magic remedies for certain diseases and disorders. LRPF has urged the NCPCR to direct the Director General of Police, Telangana, and the Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Government of Telangana, to conduct an inquiry and register an FIR regarding the girl’s removal from ICU and transfer to the Miracle Healing Show.
The complaint also requests the Government of Telangana to identify the young girl and ensure her current health condition is assessed and immediate medical care is provided if necessary.
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