Turned the house into a church, the whole neighborhood is troubled by one family
Korba: Cases of surreptitious conversion have been coming to light in Katghora area of Vananchal and tribal dominated Korba district. At present, the latest case is of ward number 02 of Tehsil Bhantha of Katghora municipal area. Local people allege that a family here has converted their house in the middle of a residential area into a church. Not only this, prayers and meetings are being organized here every day. People of the locality say that on one hand, all the citizens are troubled by the noise in the name of the meeting, while on the other hand, poor families are being openly converted by luring them with money and gifts. A large crowd gathers here every Sunday, which includes elders, women and innocent children. Religious sermons are given to them.
It was told that a complaint had been made in the past regarding this activity that has been going on for years. On the afternoon of 8th October, in the name of Sunday meeting, people gathered again at home i.e. church and the meeting started being organised. As soon as the loud meeting started, the people of the locality got angry and everyone went in front of this so-called church. Seeing the commotion, information was immediately given to Katghora police. Seeing the seriousness of the situation, the police reached the spot, intervened and then consoled the angry people. The angry people remained adamant that the meeting should be closed and this entire suspicious activity should be stopped. Seeing the anger of the people of the ward, the police took out the people gathered in the church in their presence and sent them back home safely. However, in view of this entire episode, the police is maintaining its presence in the locality.
This entire issue was also discussed with the SDOP of the sub-division, Pankaj Thakur. He said that the matter is not directly related to conversion but to gathering and noise. On receiving the complaint, the police reached the spot and then the matter was resolved through mutual consent and reconciliation. Katghora Police is fully committed to maintaining peace and law and order.