Bajrang Dal activists tonsured a youth and paraded him on a donkey in a Uttar Pradesh village for allegedly converting another man to Christianity without his consent, police said.
Police added they were probing the claim of one Sangam Jatav who alleged that the accused Avdhesh Savita had forcefully converted him to Christianity without his knowledge.
After the BJP swept to power at the Centre in 2014, right-wing groups including the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have launched a campaign against large scale religious conversions of Hindus allegedly by Christian and Muslims.
The outfits had even launched a programme called ‘ghar wapsi’ to re-convert those people to Hinduism, triggering a debate on the sensitive issue.
Jatav alleged that Avdhesh Savita took him to a village in Varanasi on the “pretext of getting me a good job.”
“There, I was forced to convert to Christianity. I somehow managed to escape,” alleged Jatav.
Bajrang Dal activists, who tonsured Savita, also tried to take the accused to the SP’s office but had to release him after police intervened.
Police said investigation was on and Jatav was being interrogated.
{{/usCountry}}Police said investigation was on and Jatav was being interrogated.
{{/usCountry}}Members of Bajrang Dal and Durga Vahini also handed over a memorandum to the Orai superintendent of police demanding action against “agents” involved in religious conversions.
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