Kerala pastor among 8 held in Maharashtra over religious conversion bid; CM Vijayan slams move
Amravati (PTI): Police in Maharashtra's Amravati district on Wednesday arrested a pastor hailing from Kerala, and seven others including four women, on the charge of hurting religious sentiments after a man accused them of offering money to people for conversion to Christianity, officials said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed the arrest of the "Malayali Christian priest, his family and aides" as "deeply disturbing", and criticised the Sangh Parivar for the "worrying pattern of targeting minorities to fuel polarisation".
A complaint over the incident was lodged by Lakshman Shede, a resident of Warud, around 80 km from Amravati, on Tuesday.
As per the complaint, five to six persons came to the house of Ritesh Bondre, a local resident, and erected a pandal in front of his house on December 30.
A person wearing white clothes was preaching about Christianity to people of the village and was luring the attendees with money to change their faith, it said.
Based on his complaint, in-charge of the Benoda police station visited the spot and brought the eight accused to the police station for inquiry.
The eight persons are identified as Bondre, the local resident; Anandkumar Karri, a resident of Nagpur; Sudhir William, a native of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, who has been residing in Nagpur for the last few years; Vikram Sande from Nagpur and four women, the police said.
Police sources said Kerala native William is a pastor.
On Wednesday, the police formally placed the eight accused under arrest and produced them before a local court, which granted them bail.
They were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) and 302 (uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person).
Kerala CM Vijayan, in a post on X, said, "Deeply disturbing that a Malayali Christian priest, his family and aides were arrested in Nagpur on allegations of forced conversion. This follows a worrying pattern followed by Sangh Parivar, of targeting minorities to fuel polarisation, as seen earlier in Jabalpur. Such actions undermine constitutional freedoms."
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BJP forms 'fact finding committee' over Bengaluru eviction
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday constituted a "fact finding committee" to look into the demolition of illegally constructed houses as part of a drive to clear encroachment of government land, and to submit a detailed report.
The demolition drive has escalated into a major political row, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and politicians from that state too wading into the issue.
The BJP has been critical of the government's decision to rehabilitate "genuine" homeless among those, whose illegally constructed houses were demolished, terming the move as "appeasement politics".
The seven member committee consists of BJP legislators and leaders, including MLAs S R Vishwanath and S Muniraju.
The "fact finding committee" has been constituted to find the facts behind the demolition of houses in Fakir Colony and Wasim Layout near Kogilu in Yelahanka in the northern part of the city, Vijayendra said in a statement.
The committee has been directed to visit the spot, inquire and submit a detailed report in a week's time.
The demolition drive on December 20 was carried out by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited to clear encroachments for a proposed solid waste processing unit, officials have said claiming that the houses were constructed without any official permission. Most of the occupants were migrants from other states.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Wednesday accused the Congress government of creating 'mini Bangladesh' in the state due to its alleged appeasement politics, as he hit out at the administration over its decision to allot houses to those, whose unauthorised houses were demolished.
He said the government by doing so was encouraging large-scale encroachment and illegal settlements.
BJP leaders have accused the state government of indulging in "Muslim appeasement politics", as most of the demolished illegal houses, reportedly belonged to members from the community. They have also questioned the swiftness with which the government moved to rehabilitate those, who had indulged in illegal encroachment.
They pointed out that the rehabilitation announcement from the government came after the demolition of 167 illegal houses or sheds triggered a political row, after Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan termed the razing of houses as "brutal normalisation of the bulldozer raj".
Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal, who is also from Kerala, had immediately intervened after's Vijayan's statement, and had conveyed the AICC's serious concern to CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, stating that such actions (demolition) should have been undertaken with far greater caution, sensitivity, and compassion, keeping the human impact at the centre.
