In a protest against forced religious conversion programs being conducted by the church authorities, the Bajrang Dal activist and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad members sang Bhajan inside the makeshift church in Hubbali area of Karnataka. This is after pastor Somu Avaradhi forcefully tried to convert a man called Vishvanath who complained and brought the matter to light. The activists and BJP leader has demanded the arrest of pastor Somu Avaradhi.
“A man called Vishvanath was taken there for conversion. He went to the police station from the church and filed a complaint against Pastor Somu and others. Later, our members assembled inside the church and in order to protest, started singing Hindu bhajans", said Raghu Sakleshpora, the State Convenor of the Bajrang Dal.
Besides, members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, BJP MLA Arvind Bellad also protested in front of the Navanagar police station on Sunday, accusing the cops of failing to act against the pastor accused of forcible conversions. Vishvanath, a vegetable vendor at APMC yard, who filed the case alleging forced conversions against the pastor and others, also accused the pastor of abusing him in the makeshift church when he recited Hindu prayers instead of Christian prayers.
“Somu had asked me and my family members to attend the Sunday prayer at ‘Prayer for all’ hall in Bairidevarkoppa. However, when I started singing a prayer of Hindu gods, he, along with others at the hall, started abusing me,” he said. The pastor has reportedly been arrested by the Police since then. The police commissioner of Hubli-Dhadwad said, “The investigation is going on. Only Somu Avaradhi has been arrested. So far, we have not received any complaint from the church.”
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