CHITRADURGA: A man has lodged a complaint against his father-in-law and other relatives for allegedly forcing him to convert to Christianity. The man identified as Marappa, has alleged that he is forbidden from seeing his wife Sarala and new born baby. “I am being threatened and assaulted by my wife’s family. They are forcing me to convert to Christianity”, the man said to the police.

The couple got married on July 6, 2020. That day, he was forced to take dip in the holy water and his in-laws declared him a Christian. The accused had torn and burnt the pictures of Hindu gods, asking him not to worship them. “They told me that I would go to hell if I worship Hindu gods”, the man said in his complaint.

Marappa had sent his pregnant wife to her parent’s house on December 2, 2021. From then onwards, he was not allowed to see them. He had come to know about the baby’s birth from others. Marappa’s family members were also not allowed to meet the baby.

The complaint has been lodged against Sarala's father Vasantha Kumar, grandfather Ramachandrappa, relatives Sudhakar, Manjunath and Sangappa. Marappa has demanded the police to take action against the accused for hurting religious sentiments and send his wife and child with him. The police have started investigating the case.