Former police commissioner of Bangalore Dr. HT Sangliana lashed out at Hindutva outfits falsely implicating Christians on cooked up conversion charges in Karnataka.

Talking to press persons after two incidents of alleged conversion surfaced on the media, Sangliana said the accusations were part of a ploy to create fear “psychosis” in the minds of Christians and pit the public against the minority community.

The former MP and patron of the Karnataka Missions Network pointed out that there were 74 cases of conversion registered by the police, but none were proved due to lack of evidence.

The press meet was organised in the wake of two unfounded arrests - one in Udyavara of Udupi district and the other at Attavar in Mangalore city.

In the first case, two inmates of a Christian hostel accused the manager of forcing them to read the Bible and attending a church. Later, after an investigation the police found the claim erroneous and also none of the other 63 inmates or neighbors had similar complaints.

The other case at Mangalore saw a group of activists storming an apartment complex on conversion charges. A couple that was victimized by the fundamentalists later said they even thought of a suicide after the media portrayed them as culprits.

In both the cases, says Sangliana, police issued no search warrants and acted hastily on false complaints.

Last year, during the peak of violence against Christians in the state, Sangliana accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for supporting the activities of Sangh Parivar, and further said police were being politically motivated by the ruling party.

“Police officials have become puppets in the hands of the government. Instead of protecting Christians, they are committing atrocities on them. They are being politically motivated,” he had said.

In an interview, he asked why when some of the most notorious criminal cases have been cracked with no time, the police fail to respond to violence against Christian minority.

Currently, a government-appointed Commission is investigating last year’s violence on several prayer halls in Mangalore and Dakshina Kannada districts. Archbishop Moras notes that the investigation started a year back, but results are yet to be published.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. I respect the investigation process and understand that there are a lot of elements in the probe that need time. However, when there is an undue delay in the investigation, there is a possibility of the people losing faith in the system,” he said.