A startling revelation has come to light through a communication from the Tahsildar to the District Collector, exposing that former Congress MLA from Alampur, Sampath Kumar, interfered with authorities to halt the investigation into the illegal construction of churches and questioned the validity of caste certificates issued to converted Christians.
According to the report, the MLA instructed officials to refrain from taking action against unauthorized church buildings and the alleged misuse of caste certificates by individuals who had converted from Hinduism to Christianity but continued to hold Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The Tahsildar’s report, submitted to Jogulamba Gadwal District Collector, provides details of a complaint from local residents regarding illegal church construction in Manopad town. The complaint, lodged on 13 May 2024, raised concerns about churches being built without proper permits. It specifically highlighted that a church constructed on Sy. No. 294/1A/1 was obstructed by members of the Hindu community, but construction had resumed despite the lack of approval from the authorities. The petitioners also pointed out that one Sri Gudem Yejra Samuel, a pastor from Jallapuram Village, had obtained an SC (Madiga) caste certificate despite converting to Christianity.
In response, the Tahsildar had referred the matter to the Mandal Girdawar for an inquiry. The Revenue Inspector’s report confirmed that an individual named Sri Mathaiah, a Christian preacher, was building a church without the necessary permissions, with only the foundation stage of construction completed.
The Tahsildar report states, “I invite kind attention to the references cited wherein Additional Collector, (Revenue) has instructed to submit a detail report in the above subject matter on 14.09.2024 an the representation of Sri Vadla Raghy and others. In this regard I submit that Sri Vadla Raghu and others have represented in their petition on 13.05.2024 that in Manopad town some illegal churches are being constructed without obtaining any permission from the concerned authorities and further it is represented that in Sy. No. 294/1A/1 a church has been constructed, which was obstructed my Hindu Community people, again the same church is being constructed and requested to take action to stop the construction of the church which is being constructed without any permission from the concerned authorities.”
“Further the applicants in the representation requested that one Sri Gudem Yejra Samuel, Pastor belongs to Jallapuram Village having two children G. Arpitha and G. Stephen Paul has been issued S.C. (Madiga) caste certificate and requested to take action. In this regard the matter was referred to Mandal Girdawar for inquiring into the matter and to report. Accordingly the Revenue Inspector has submitted his report which reveals that from Manopad village to Chennipadu Village road one Sri Mathaiah, Christian religion preacher is constructing church which is in starting stage, foundation work and the church construction has no permission from the concerned authorities. Further it is requested that Sri Gudem Yejra Samuel who is staying Manopad village since (20) years working as Pastor in Christian Sangam Church since (25) years. He has taken Baptism in 2014 and even took Baptism for his children also.” He explained
The controversial part of the report states that notices were issued to both Sri Mathaiah for building a church without authorization and to Sri Yejra Samuel for obtaining an SC (Madiga) caste certificate despite his conversion to Christianity. They were given until 7 October 2024, to respond, but no explanations were received. Instead, the Tahsildar reports that former MLA Sampath Kumar instructed them not to take any further action in the matter.
“In this regard a notice has been issued to Sri Mathaiah for constructing Church in Manopad village without taking any permission from concern authorities and another notice was issued to Sri Yejra Samuel for obtaining caste certificate of SC (Madiga) even ofter taking Baptism and even after Convertinig from Hindu Religion to Christianity and instructed them to submit their explanation, given date for submitting explanation was 07.10.2024 but so for no explanation was received from them, instead I have been instructed not to take any further action in the matter by the former MLA, Alampur Constituency Sri Sampath Kumar. This is submitted for favour of kind information.” the report states.
The report concludes by highlighting that the MLA’s intervention prevented any further action from being taken, and the issue remains unresolved despite clear instructions from the authorities to investigate the matter further.
#Shocking: Tahsildar's report to Jogulamba Gadwal District Collector reveals that former MLA Sampath Kumar of Alampur Constituency instructed them to refrain from taking action against illegal Church construction and unlawfully obtaining SC certificates by Christians. pic.twitter.com/Tpeq2IcwFy
— Legal Rights Protection Forum (@lawinforce) December 13, 2024
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