RAIPUR: The team constituted by BJP to probe the church vandalism in Narayanpur on Tuesday afternoon was stopped by protestors in Benur. The team then staged a Dharna demanding to meet the accused Rupsai Salam. In the advent of the tense situation in Narayanpur, the police immediately arrived on the spot to take charge of the situation. The team members identified as MLA Nankiram Kanwar, MLA Shivram Sharma, Kanker MP Mohan Mandavi, Rajnandangaon MP Santosh Pandey, BJP state general secretary, and former Minister Kedar Kashyap and former Minister Mahesh Gagda were taken into custody and released late night, officials said.
A curfew-like situation prevailed in Narayanpur. A team of five district forces led by Bastar IG Sundarraj has been deployed across the city to keep a tab on the protests. So far, there is no confirmation on the imposition of Section 144, however, large gatherings have been banned.
Over so months now, there have been disputes between tribals and Christian missionaries over forced conversion into Christianity. On January 2nd, protests broke out in Gorra village of Edka Panchayat, where protestors barged into Vishwa Dipti school premises and vandalized a church. Several officers deployed to control the protestors including a senior police officer were injured. On Tuesday, the police arrested five including a BJP leader, are now under judicial custody for questioning into the incident.