YADGIR: Four people, including two women, have been arrested for allegedly attempting to coax people into converting to another religion, at Neelahalli village in Yadgir taluk on Sunday. Superintendent of Police Vedamurthy said the prime accused Jemsa, Shantaraj and Neelamma, all from Madwar in Yadgir taluk, and Mallamma of Neelahalli village, were arrested on Monday evening and remanded in judicial custody.
“The arrested were trying to coax villagers, particulary Dalits, to convert to Christianity. When some youths opposed this, Jemsa got into an argument with them and claimed to have a government order for mass conversion,” sources told Express.
According to the sources, Jemsa said Dalits getting converted to Christianity was not actually “matantara” (conversion), but was “roopantara” (transformation). When the youths asked him why he was trying to convert the villagers when the village doesn’t have a church, he is believed to have said, “Now, I will make all efforts for conversion of all the villagers and they will be blessed if they change their faith.”
The sources said Jemsa also declined to show the government order and instead dared them to lodge a complaint against him, warning of filing a counter-complaint. The youths lodged a complaint against the four at Saidapur police station on Sunday itself. Following rumours that the arrested were filing a counter-complaint, the youths and others staged a demonstration in front of Saidapur police station on Monday evening.