Hundreds of Christians and Dalits took to the streets in Chirala of Prakasham district on Sunday and burnt BJP flags, as a group of individuals were allegedly caught distributing "hateful and objectionable" anti-Christian pamphlets.
Tension mounted in the area as hundreds of youths took out a protest march demanding that the accused be brought to justice, with the protestors alleging BJP's role in "hate mongering".
On Sunday afternoon, around six people were distributing "pamphlets" on a road near 1 town police station, which was reportedly discovered by a few locals.
Immediately, the local police were informed about the incident and the accused were taken into custody.
Speaking to TNM, Paul Diwakar, a pastor and Christian activist based in Chirala said that the group had taken shelter in Chirala BJP office and were distributing hateful pamphlets against "Jesus" and the “Bible”.
Paul further alleged that "with the support of RSS and BJP, these people are trying to create clashes in the town."
On why Christian groups think that RSS is behind this since the "pamphlets" which were said to have been distributed were not having any organisation’s name, the pastor said, "Two local RSS persons were also caught with them".
When TNM approached Chirala DySP, Prema Kajal, she suggested to contact the Inspector.
Speaking to TNM, 1-town Inspector Surya Narayana confirmed the incident and said, "Nearly 10 people were taken into custody, and a case has been registered under relevant sections."
When asked if the accused belong to any political or religious outfit, the Inspector said, "That needs to be investigated and we can't tell about their affiliations now".
Police said that the situation in the town is peaceful and all necessary steps are being taken to maintain normalcy.