Three held for attempt to convert children

Three men were arrested on the charges of trying to convert children to Christianity at Kamalanagar in Basaveshwara Nagar area on Tuesday. According to the police, the arrested are Shivakumar, Ramesh and Govardhan, all neo-converts.

On Monday evening, they had gathered about 20 children, aged between 10 and 15, at a house belonging to Govind Swamy. Neighbour and complainant Ramanna noticed the children in Swamy’s house and questioned a boy coming out of the house.

The boy told him the men had asked the children to convert to Christianity. Ramanna confronted the trio who asked him to mind his business. Later, he informed the owner of the house, Swamy, about the incident. Swamy, who is also a converted Christian, told Ramanna that he knew the men and that he left the house keys with them and left for work, said the police.

On Tuesday morning, Ramanna lodged a complaint and the police arrested the trio under Section 295A the IPC (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage reli­gious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or reli­gious beliefs).