Narayanpur conversion row: Six more arrested including one who attacked SP

Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Sadanand Kumar who suffered a head injury during the incident said that six more persons were arrested on Friday in connection with the incident of riots in Narayanpur during a protest by people of a community.

Narayanpur (Chattisgarh): Six more persons, including one who attacked the Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Sadanand Kumar during alleged vandalism at a church in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh, have been arrested earlier this week, police said on Saturday. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has gone up to 11.

Speaking to reporters, Kumar said that the six new arrests in the case were made on Friday in relation to riots during the protest demonstration by a community in Narayanpur. "Six more persons were arrested on Friday in connection with the incident of riots in Narayanpur during a protest by people of a community," he said.

A mob targeted the church, located on the premises of a private school, the Narayanpur City, during a protest against alleged religious conversion in the district. The mob also attacked the police personnel deployed at the spot resulting in six police personnel including the SP suffering injuries.

The SP also said that the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Narayanpur district unit and four others were arrested earlier in relation to the case. Four FIRs have been registered under several sections of the IPC pertaining to rioting, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion and race, criminal conspiracy, and defiling places of worship.

District police officials said that a large police contingent has been deployed at the spot to ensure that no further escalation takes place. They also said that currently, the situation is under control.

The tribals in Narayanpur on Monday gathered to protest against a clash between two communities on Sunday over alleged religious conversion in Edka village in the district.

After the meeting, the crowd barged into a church and vandalized it, officials had said. The rioters also attacked a police team led by SP Kumar that arrived to control the situation.

The discord between the Christian and non-Christian communities in the district had been brewing for some time. Last month, a large number of people belonging to the Christian community staged a protest in front of the Collector's office in Narayanpur alleging "atrocities" against them.

Earlier, protesters from at least 14 villages of the tribal-dominated district had claimed they were allegedly assaulted and evicted from their homes for following the Christian faith and sought action by the administration.