By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: Four persons were arrested in Andhra Pradesh’s Srisailam town for reading the Bible at a park close to the Mallikarjuna Temple.
The state police have reportedly acted against them on the charge of violating Andhra Pradesh Propagation of Other Religion in the places of worship or prayer (Prohibition) Act, 2007.
They were later produced in court and released on bail.
According to news reports, the four men, identified as Timothy, Peter, Praveen and Joshua, were spotted by the security guards of the temple on December 28 opening the Bible and posing with it for photographs.
The guards brought the men to the local police station where they were charged under the Act.
“The four accused had attended a religious meeting somewhere nearby. After that, they came to the park, and we were told that they opened a copy of the Bible and kept it there. They also took photos with the Bible. As they were reading the Bible, the temple security staff noticed them and reported it to the chief security officer. They were then brought to the station and a case was registered,” sub-inspector Vijay Kumar told The News Minute.
The sub-inspector said they violated the Act and were booked under sections 153A of the Indian Penal Code.
Even though they were found reading the Bible at a park close to the temple, they were arrested because the Act reportedly does not make any mention of the distance from a religious institution, Sajan K George, president of the Global Council for Indian Christians, told Matters India.