2 min readRaipurUpdated: Aug 8, 2026 05:33 PM IST
Raipur Police arrested the 75-year-old president of the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum Friday night for allegedly making an objectionable social media post that hurt the religious sentiments of a community.
The accused, Arun Pannalal, allegedly posted the “highly objectionable” comment on a Facebook post by Hansraj Goyal. Following the comment, BJP spokesperson Amit Chimnani approached the Civil Lines police station with a written complaint, providing URLs and screenshots of the posts and comments.
Founded in 1995, the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum is a platform vocal on several issues concerning the state’s minority community, including reports of persecution, social advocacy, and inter-community relations. Pannalal has been known to raise issues of violence against the state’s Christians. His political outfit, Sarva Adi Dal, unsuccessfully contested the 2023 Chhattisgarh Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
According to analysts, their vote share, together with those of some smaller parties, could have eaten into the Congress’s votes.
Police registered an FIR against Pannalal and Goyal under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for promoting enmity between different groups, acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace.
“We arrested the accused Friday night. On Saturday, he was produced before a magistrate court, where he was sent to judicial custody,” said Yaman Dewangan, inspector in charge of Civil Lines police station.
After the FIR, a group of Bajrang Dal workers staged a protest outside Pannalal’s residence in Raipur, but Raipur Police dispersed the mob. The Indian Express tried to reach Pannalal as well as the forum’s official phone number, but secured no response.