Chhattisgarh: Six more held for church vandalism, attack on cops in Narayanpur
Narayanpur (PTI): Six more persons have been arrested in connection with the alleged vandalism at a church and attack on policemen in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district early this week, taking the number of those taken into custody to 11, police said on Saturday.
The church, located on the premises of a private school, in Narayanpur city was targeted on Monday during a protest against alleged religious conversion in the tribal-dominated area.
The protesters also attacked Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Sadanand Kumar and five police personnel when they were trying to disperse the crowd.
"Six more persons were arrested on Friday in connection with the incident of riots in Narayanpur during a protest by people of a community," said Kumar, who sustained head injuries in the attack.
The person who attacked the IPS officer is among the six held, said officials.
Earlier, the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Narayanpur district unit and four others were arrested for their alleged role in the violence, the SP said.
The police have registered four FIRs under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to rioting, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion and race, criminal conspiracy and defiling places of worship.
Adequate security personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order in the Narayanpur district, the police officer said, adding the situation was peaceful and normal.
On Monday, tribals gathered in Narayanpur, nearly 240 km from the state capital Raipur, to protest against a clash between two communities on Sunday over alleged religious conversion in Edka village in the district.
After the meeting, the crowd barged into a church and vandalised it, officials had said. The rioters also attacked a police team led by SP Kumar that arrived to control the situation.
The discord between the Christian and non-Christian communities in the district had been brewing for some time.
Last month, a large number of people belonging to the Christian community staged a protest in front of the Collector's office in Narayanpur alleging "atrocities" against them.
Protesters from at least 14 villages of the tribal-dominated district had claimed they were allegedly assaulted and evicted from their homes for following the Christian faith and sought action by the administration.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
