VHP Denies Assaulting Priest Near Tank Bund

The Telangana unit of the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today strongly denied involvement in the alleged attack on a Christian pastor on January 21, and urged the Christian community not to fall prey to the "false propaganda" being created by communal elements who were trying to invoke communal tensions in the city.

Addressing the media on Saturday, Telangana VHP President M Rama Raju and other members demanded that the State government and Police initiate immediate action against the forces that used social media to create rifts between Hindus and Christians in this incident.

Recalling the incident, he claimed that pastor K V Swamy was distributing bibles and allegedly preached to people to convert to Christianity and also spoke ill about Hindu deities.

A few pedestrians confronted and questioned him, he said. The pastor was then taken to the Mahankali police station, who released him in the evening, Raju claimed.

The VHP leader claimed that the allegations were a vicious campaign against the VHP and Bajrang Dal members. He claimed that the pastor's wife was forced to lodge a false complaint in Gandhinagar police station, leading to the arrest of three "innocent" persons.

J Rajagopal Naidu and C Chandrashekar, VHP Dharma Prasar Committee members, also spoke on the occasion.