The Hindu

DAVANGERE, Jan 3: A Christian prayer hall-cum-residence of a pastor was partially destroyed in a fire early on Friday at Malebennur in Davangere district.

Pastor Gangadhar had gone to Bangalore and his wife Nirmala along with her four children stayed at her friend’s house overnight. There was no casualty and the people living around the prayer hall had put out the fire after a couple of hours.

The prayer hall — Graceful Gospel Church — at Indiranagar in Malebennur was one of the places of worship to be closed and was later allowed to function up to January 4 as per a High Court order.

It was earlier a residence of the pastor who later turned it into a prayer hall despite opposition from the local people. New Year’s Day was celebrated on a grand scale on Thursday.

Tension

Tension prevailed at Malebennur throughout the day.

The police said they were looking into the causes of the fire.

When B.K. Somashekar commission of inquiry led by B.K. Somashekar visited Malebennur a few days ago, people vehemently opposed the continuance of a prayer hall as the presence of Christians was negligible at Malebennur. They wanted the prayer hall to be shifted.