Tension prevailed in the Surajpura village on the outskirts of Dholpur and the Sever area of Bharatpur after allegations of forced conversions at the weekly prayer meets in both cities of Rajasthan on Sunday.
According to police, a weekly Christian prayer meeting was in progress at a house in the Surajpura village under the Sadar police station on Sunday when some locals, along with RSS activists gathered outside. Accusing allurement for religious conversion on the pretext of prayer assembly, they called the police to pacify the situation and took a Christian volunteer among three people to the police station for interrogation.
Vehemently denying the allegation, the volunteer said, “We were offering weekly prayer, there was nothing like conversion.”
According to the police station incharge, the police found that the prayer was in progress in the house in the presence of a large number of participants. However, in view of serious allegations, they brought a few people to the police station for interrogation. “We would conduct in an depth probe,” he assured.
Meanwhile, there was tension at a “prayer – assembly” behind Vijay Hospital in the Sever area at Bharatpur following apprehension of forced conversion. Here, Bajrang Dal activists stormed the location, raising “Jai Shri Ram” slogans and calling the police.
The police arrived at the spot and pacified the situation. However, the organiser of the prayer meeting reportedly fled the scene.
A local Bajrang Dal functionary claimed that a large number of people were present to attend the prayer meeting. However, this was not a routine prayer meeting, the motive was religious conversion.
Some participants of the prayer refuted the allegation of allurement for conversion or participation in the prayers in the presence of the police. A local woman participant said, “People are not under pressure to attend prayer, we come on our own as we feel mental peace in the prayer.”
However, in Tonk, a different but ugly situation was created on Friday in the wake of allegations of forced conversions and nikah against some youths accused of eve teasing. They were accused of harassing a minor girl of a different community for almost a month. These youths on Friday allegedly tried to abduct the victim girl from her coaching centre. The coaching centre foiled their bid. Out of frustration the youths vandalized the coaching centre and beat up its incharge Hemraj Chaudhary.
After the victim lodged an FIR late Friday evening, two of the accused have been detained.