Chitradurga: MLA Gulihatti D. Shekhar and his supporters stood outside the church gate in Hosadurga, asking people for their names, villages, castes, how long they had been coming to church, and whether they had been converted.
Shekhar, who wants to prove that forced conversions are taking place in his constituency, was dissatisfied with the report submitted by Y. Thippeswamy, the then-tahsildar of Hosadurga, who stated that there were no forced conversions in the Hosadurga Taluk.
According to sources, Shekhar decided to gather information regarding the conversions, speaking with people and filming their conversations.
While several of the attendees informed the MLA that they had been attending church for the previous seven to eight years, one woman said she had been attending since the Covid-19 outbreak, while others avoided the MLA’s questions.
Fearful of speaking to the MLA, a couple from Devapura Bhovihatti, who belonged to the Bhovi community, went away without speaking to him, as did many others.