Baripada (Orissa): Twelve tribals were
arrested Tuesday for allegedly undergoing religious conversion
in an illegal manner in Orissa's Mayurbhanj district while
efforts were on to nab two pastors and another tribal.
The arrest came three days after a case was registered
on Saturday against 15 persons - two Baptist pastors and 13
tribals - for alleged involvement in illegal conversion in,
Mayurbhanj district, police said today.
The case was registered after it was found that 13
tribals of Rasgobindpur area had been converted in an illegal
manner by the two pastors, Inspector In-Charge of Rasgobindpur
police station, Santosh Das said.
The 12 tribals arrested from Rasgobindpur area were
produced before a court here which sent them to jail, while
the pastors and another tribal were yet to be traced, he said.
The pastors, identified as Samuel Mohapatra and Manuel
Mohapatra of Balasore, as well as the tribals were found to
have violated the provisions of Orissa Freedom of Religion
Act, he said adding permission of the district authorities is
mandatory for undertaking any religious conversion.
The conversion of the 13 tribals, belonging to four
villages, had taken place during the last two-three days,
police said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 29, 2011, 16:39