Karnataka: 9 booked for forcing religious conversion

Mandya (Karnataka), April 13 (IANS) The Karnataka Police have registered an FIR against a man and eight others for allegedly forcing his wife and mother-in-law to convert to Christianity and assaulting them with an iron rod.

The incident came to light on Sunday in Palahalli village near Srirangapatna town in Mandya district. The FIR has been registered by the Pattana police, who have also begun an investigation into the case.

The FIR names one Srikanth and 8 of his family members and others as the accused. The victims have been identified as Srikanth's wife, Laxmi, and her mother, Shruthi. The complaint was lodged by Ravikiran, Laxmi's brother.

In his complaint, Ravikiran stated that his sister Laxmi had been subjected to torture for refusing to convert to Christianity.

He further alleged that the accused husband also pressured her to bring money from her parents.

Hoping for an improvement in Laxmi's life, her family arranged Rs 25 lakh and gave it to the accused. However, according to the complaint, the accused used the money to build a church and engaged in religious conversions.

Speaking to the media, Shruthi claimed that her daughter was not allowed to wear a bindi or worship Hindu gods. She alleged that religious conversions have been taking place in the Palahalli region for over 10 years.

“Vokkaliga, Vishwakarma, Marathi, and other communities are being converted. They target people in distress and lure them into Christianity by offering money. They receive funds from unknown sources, and those who convert are getting lakhs of rupees,” she alleged.

She further claimed that the entire village had converted to Christianity. “On paper, they show that they are Hindus to avail government benefits, but in society, they identify as Christians,” Shruthi said.

“They called me and my daughter for a compromise and then assaulted us,” she alleged.

The family stated that Laxmi and Srikanth were married 15 years ago and everything was fine in the beginning. A few years into the marriage, Srikanth's family converted to Christianity.

Even though her husband’s entire family had converted, Laxmi refused to do so. She claimed that she is a devotee of Goddess Chamundeshwari and would not convert to Christianity.

Since then, her husband's family allegedly began harassing her, and she was sent back to her parents’ home four months ago. Unable to bear the torture and pain, Laxmi reportedly attempted suicide. It was in this context that Srikanth called for a compromise, during which the assault took place, the family alleged.

--IANS

mka/pgh