An incident involving an attempted religious conversion of devotees en-route to the Mantralaya pilgrimage occurred near Siraguppa in Bellary district. The incident led to a case being registered at the Tekkalakote police station. In connection with the case, the police have arrested one individual while another remains at large. It is reported that on July 18, the accused pair attempted to convert pilgrims who were travelling on foot to the Mantralaya.
When the incident occurred, three pilgrims were going to Mantralaya via the Siruguppa National Highway. Hussain Bhasha (44) and Sai Baba (24) from Tekkalakote town allegedly tried to convert the pilgrims. The accused reportedly preached about Islam to the devotees, who were carrying saffron flags as they walked towards the temple. Gadilingappa, one of the pilgrims, filed a complaint at the Tekkalakote police station. He also captured footage on his mobile phone, documenting the incident where individuals of another religion were seen questioning their Guru.
Gadilingappa, who addressed the pilgrims after the incident, warned them not to be swayed by the words of the proselytisers. He claimed that the accused were attempting to convince the devotees to convert to Islam.
The local community has expressed concern over the incident, and authorities are on the lookout for the second suspect involved. The case has sparked discussions about religious tolerance and the rights of individuals to practice their faith freely without coercion. The investigation is ongoing, and the police are working to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future.
“We have booked a case against two persons under BNS section 5 and arrested one person,” Bellary district superintendent of police Dr Shobha Rani told the Organiser. “Another accused, Sai Baba, is a postgraduate student at Bellary University and absconded after the incident. She added that the arrest was produced before Siraguppa JMFC court, which remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days. Police are investigating whether they preached d this and were involved in other such activities apart from seizing the literature.
The preaching video went viral on social media and sparked outrage among Hindu community members.
“The two were preaching Islam on Mantrayala devotees, claiming there is only one god in the universe, which is written in the Quran, Bhagvat Gita and Bible; the only god is Allah.” The video clip shows the preaching. Hence, another eyewitness told reporters that everyone on earth should worship the creator of the earth, Allah, to be good and to go to heaven after death.
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