In a shocking incident reported from Chhattisgarh, a member of the Sahu family of Urla village under Mohan Nagar police station limits of Durg has been accused by the family members and the locals for promoting conversion among the minors and putting obstacles during the daily worshiping of the family and the locals.
According to the information received, Chitrarekha Sahu, a resident of ward no 57 of Urla village in Durg, has been accused by her other family members and fellow residents of the colony of brainwashing and provoking Anganwadi kids for conversion. The residents have also alleged Chitrarekha for deliberately playing loud music while prayers are offered in the temple on the house premises.
The incident came to light when a minor altercation broke out between Chitrarekha and other members of her family and the residents over organising a Changai Sabha (a Christian religious gathering) at the former house on June 13.
It’s been reported that following the information from the Changai Sabha, a handful of locals barged into Chitrarekha’s house and started enquiring about the purpose of the gathering. It’s been learnt that as soon as the locals started questioning the motive of the Sabha, a scuffle broke out between Chitrarekha and the locals, during which a fellow associate of Chitrarekha attacked one of the residents, Tuleshwari Sahu, with a sharpened weapon (Hansiya) injuring her finger.
It’s been learnt that after the attack on Tuleshwari Sahu, a few local women also thrashed Chitrarekha, following which both parties reached the local police station to file a complaint against each other. However, both parties reached a compromise following the intervention of the police and some local activists, after which they opted not to lodge an FIR for the incident.
Though a day after the compromise, a portion of the video pertaining to the incident was released on the social media site, which soon went viral; in the viral video, which is doing the rounds on the internet, a lady identified as Chitrarekha can be seen thrashed by a few local women of the colony.
(Watch the video here: https://twitter.com/MeghUpdates/status/1670349158027513856?t=x0rYdMUTuxVWvYaEoEBGDw&s=08)
After the video went viral on the internet, the state head of the Dharmantaran Mukt Chhattisgarh, Ratan Lal Yadav, along with fellow functionaries of Bajrang Dal, submitted a memorandum to the district SP, Saurabh Kumar Sinha and sought a fair and thorough enquiry into the matter.
In the memorandum submitted, Hindu activists and the locals have alleged Chitrarekha for not only promoting illegal conversion through Changai Sabha at her place but also brainwashing and inciting minors to convert to Christianity.
The residents in the memorandum alleged that till the date of the incident, an Anganwadi centre was being run by Chitrarekha Sahu, where she used to incite the children to chant Christian religious prayers; she also worked as a cook in the local government school where to she had been inciting the children to chant Christian prayers and name of Jesus Christ for passing the examination.
In another viral video about the incident, a minor girl, Rashmi Sahu (name changed), claims that “Chitrarekha used to tell them if Mahadev couldn’t save his wife, how would he save you.” The minors were also instructed not to disclose anything to their parents and visit her alone.”
Speaking with the Organiser representative Ratan Lal Yadav said “that a compromise had been reached between both the parties on June 20; we also held a couple of Jan Jagran sessions at the village to ensure that everything will run smooth, though the other party has now released a portion of the video which seems like a conspiracy to drag the local Hindus into a false case. If they are releasing a video, they should have released it without any cut.”
“All we want is for Chitrarekha Sahu and her associates should produce their conversion-related documents before the district magistrate and stop using Hindu Surnames as we are still not sure about her conversion on papers. Also, if they would try to pressurise the administration on behalf of the portion of the video released, then Hindu society would not be a mute spectator and retaliate with all its might”, said further Ratan Yadav.
Meanwhile, speaking with the media, Durg SP Salabh Sinha said that we had received a memorandum and would conduct a thorough enquiry into the matter; several residents were also present at the incident site; we will speak to them and investigate further.
It is to be noted that many reports about illegal conversion attempts by the missionaries have surfaced in the state lately, which has also led to violence on a few occasions.
In a similar incident reported from Amleshwar village of the Patan region of the district, several Hindu residents gathered near a house. They raised slogans against illegal conversion after a resident organised a similar Changai Sabha in April this year.
