A 24-year old man has lodged a complaint with Hosadurga police in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district against his father-in-law and other relatives for allegedly forcing him to convert to Christianity.
Marappa, who is from Budga Jangam Colony in Aravind Nagar near Hospet, has alleged that he is not being allowed to see his wife and newborn baby. He claims that he was being threatened, blackmailed and even assaulted by his wife’s family members, who want him to convert to Christianity.
The accused are Vasanthkumar, his father-in-law, Ramachandrappa, his wife’s grandfather, and other relatives Sudhakar, Manjunath and Sankappa.
In his complaint, Marappa said that on July 6, 2020 while getting married, he was forced to take a dip in holy water and declare that he had now converted to Christianity. The accused had allegedly torn and burnt photos of Hindu gods, asking him not to worship them.
“My wife Sarala and her parents have been practising Christianity for the past 5-6 years. Before marriage, they forcibly made me take a holy dip. They got me married to Sarala on July 6, 2020 as per Christian customs. My family did not believe in Christianity and in a month, we went back to the Hindu-fold. My father also told my wife to leave Christianity and come back home within three months. But her father did not allow her to get back to Hinduism,” Marappa said.
The accused allegedly told him that Hindu goddesses are nothing but “evil” and that he would go to hell if he worshipped them.
Marappa had sent his wife during her pregnancy to her parents’ house on December 2, 2021. He had come to know about the newborn baby from others, he claimed. When he, along with his brothers, went to see the child on January 18, the accused had abused and assaulted them, police said.
The case has added to the already heated debate on allegedly forced religious conversions in the country.
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