Boy alleges businessman of kidnapping, forcing to change faith

March 9, 2011

KND2

Mangalore, March 9: In a mysterious case, an 18 year old boy has accused a city based businessman of abducting him and forcing him to convert into Christianity.

The alleged victim Nithin, son of Damodar Poojary, a resident of Golithotte near Uppinangady, had been working at Cold House, a juice centre owned by one Radhakrishna in Kankanady for the past 20 days.

The boy, who has studied up to 10th Standard, on Wednesday approached Urwa police station along with his father and a group of people, closely associated with Sangh Parivar and lodged a complaint against one Jillu, a Christian businessman residing at Ashoknagar here.

The complainant has said that Jillu not only kidnapped him and kept him as a hostage at his house for almost a day, but also tried to convert him from Hinduism to Christianity using force.

“When I was walking towards my room from the shop at around 10:30 am on Tuesday, March 8, Jillu, who I know only as a customer at 'Cold House' came on a motorbike and asked me board the two wheeler, assuring that he will drop me to the room. However, after I sat, he changed the direction and took me to his house, where his wife and another woman were also there. Immediately after reaching there, Jillu slap on my face and asked me to change his religion and accept Christianity. When I declined, he pushed me into a room shouting that you will not get any food or water till you meet my demand,” the boy, who was standing with a BJP activist outside the police station, said.

He said, however, that he managed to escape from their clutches at around 7:00 am today (Wednesday), when Jillu's wife opened the door to wash her face after waking up from sleep.



Nithin also accused Jillu of snatching a Nokia mobile and Rs 500 from his pocket.
Damodar Poojary said that when his son ran out of the alleged abductors' house, he was not even wearing his shirt. “Somehow, he caught Route No 31 bus and reached State Bank and called me through a coin booth and revealed everything”, Damodar said.

Asked whether the boy had money when he escaped, Poojary said: “He had only Rs 5 in his pocket. He paid Rs 4 to the bus conductor and called me by using the remaining Re 1.”

“I picked him at State Bank bus stand,” he added.

One among the group of people accompanying the boy said that Jillu runs a catering service and also owns a juice shop.

Police have registered a case and assured action after conducting a thorough investigation into the allegations.

KND1

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 3,2025

arrival.jpg

Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A 34-year-old fruit and vegetable trader in Mangaluru has reportedly lost ₹33.1 lakh after falling victim to an online investment scam run through a fake mobile app.

Police said the scam began in September, when the victim received a link on Facebook. Clicking it connected him to a WhatsApp number, where an unidentified person introduced a high-return investment scheme and instructed him to download an app.

To build trust, the fraudster asked him to invest ₹30,000 on September 24. The trader soon received ₹34,000 as “profit,” convincing him the scheme was genuine. Over the next two months, he transferred money in multiple instalments via Google Pay and IMPS to different scanner codes and bank accounts shared by the scammers. Between September 24 and December 3, he ended up sending a total of ₹33.1 lakh.

When he later requested a refund of his investment and promised returns, the scammers demanded additional payments, claiming he needed to pay a “service tax” first. Even after he paid a small amount, no money was returned, and the scammers continued pressuring him for more.

A case has been registered at the CEN Crime Police Station.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.