Durg: Police on Sunday, February 16, detained five individuals including a pastor after a major row erupted over a religious gathering in Ayodhya Nagar under Amleshwar police station limits of Durg district.
Hundreds of local Hindu activists gathered and started protesting outside the house of Dr.Vinay Sahu where a prayer meeting was organised on Sunday. The activists alleged that the said gathering was aimed at conversion.
As the protest intensified, a police team too reached the spot and detained four individuals including the house owner Dr. Vinay Sahu. Later the police booked three of them under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act 1968.
The complainant Meenakhshi Sharma, a resident of the same locality in her complaint submitted to the police has alleged that three individuals who had arrived at Sahu’s place were enticing the people for conversion by portraying Hindu deities in bad light.
She further has alleged that when she and other residents enquired about the gathering, the trio informed that they have arrived here to propagate their religion. They also allegedly insulted the Hindu deities. On the basis of the complaint, the police have booked Dr. Vinay Sahu, Krisnakant Kurrey and Dhal Singh Sahu. The case is being investigated further by the authorities.
The locals alleged that similar gatherings aimed at promoting conversion were organised at the said house for long and around 40-50 people were invited in the prayer meet organised on Sunday. The house also has a cross symbol painted along with a religious message written on the front wall.
धर्मांतरण को लेकर हिंदू संगठन का हंगामा- मौके पर बड़ी संख्या में पुलिस बल मौजूद #CGNews | #Chhattisgarh | @DurgDist | #Durg | @PoliceDurg https://t.co/qCswjP0eg8
— IBC24 News (@IBC24News) February 16, 2025
Notably this is not the only time that such a case has surfaced from Durg and cases of similar nature had also turn heads in the past as well. Organiser in March last year reported about a similar altercation between the two communities over an alleged attempt of illegal conversion in the Padmnabhpur area of the district.
A verbal spat broke out between Hindu activists and people gathered for a religious prayer meeting in a Church in the Oriya Basti, after the activists lodged a protest against the said gathering, alleging conversion attempt through means of inducement.
Though, soon after the activists started protesting against the gathering, they were confronted by the people inside the Church, leading to a violent altercation that resulted in minor injuries to a few people from both sides.
A police team later reached the spot and tried calming both the factions, assuring thorough investigation into the matter. Moreover deployments of security personnel were also made at the locality in view of avoiding any untoward incidents.
Following the scuffle, workers of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) also submitted a memorandum, seeking investigation of private churches being operated in the district.
Read the full report here : VHP seeks ban on private Churches after altercation over alleged attempt of conversion in Durg
In the memorandum submitted to the DC, the Hindu activist alleged that illegal weapons, wood, and stones were stored in the said Churches where members of Hindu community were lured into changing their religion in lieu of monetary benefits.
Earlier, in another such case reported from Durg itself, members of the two communities got involved in an altercation over an alleged attempt at conversion in February last year.
It was then reported that the verbal confrontation between the two groups soon escalated after the Hindu activists confronted the people organising a religious event in an impermanent church being operated in the Padmanabhan Nagar area.
It was reported that a bishop of ERI discourse was also among the attendees in the said event. Though, the allegations were later denied by the said Bishop who claimed that he had arrived at the said place on a dinner invitation and was trying to return when the Hindu activists arrived at the scene. Later on hundreds of members of both the community gathered at the police station demanding action into the matter.
It is to be noted that cases pertaining to conversion have been keep coming to the fore on regular intervals in the state, triggering sharp reactions from the Hindu activists who have been long demanding a stringent anti-conversion law in the state.
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