'Christian preachers not banned from Goa medical centre'

No instructions have been issued to write any notice, a health official said Thursday when asked about withdrawal of a notice banning Christian preachers from entering a primary health centre in Goa.

The notice was nailed earlier this week on the wall of the primary health centre at Aldona village. It banned Christian preachers from entering the centre.

Health authorities were forced to 'withdraw' the notice after its pictures went viral on the social media.

When contacted over the issue, Director of Health Services Sanjiv Dalvi said: "We have not issued instructions to anyone to write (any) notice. I am busy right now."

The notice signed by Maria M.O. Sequeira, a health officer working at the primary health centre at Aldona, located 20 km from Panaji, accused Christian preachers of "luring the innocent patients with financial help".

The incident came in the wake of controversies over re-conversions in northern India and vandalism of churches in Delhi.

The text of the notice which is accompanied by a memo of the directorate of health services read: "The public is hereby informed that the Christian preachers are hereby prohibited from entering the hospital premises and luring innocent patients with financial help. It is a punishable offence and liable for further action."

The notice had been nailed on the wall of the PHC since December 2014 and went viral only earlier this month.

Around 26 percent of Goa's population of about 1.5 million follows the Roman Catholic faith, while non-Catholic Christians are a minority community.