Bangalore: It appears that the state-wide protests against American evangelist Benny Hinn have made the organisers alter their plans.
Additional commissioner of police (law and order) Kamal Pant told media persons that the police have not received any information from the organisers about Hinn’s arrival.
“The event organisers were supposed to inform us about when Benny Hinn would be arriving and provide us details to help us deploy men for bandobast duty. However, they have not contacted us, so we believe Hinn may not be attending the event,” he revealed.
The event organisers have not received any confirmation about Hinn’s participation until Tuesday night. The evangelist was scheduled to participate in a prayer meeting from January 15-19 in Jakkur, Yelahanka, which was expected to see a crowd of nearly 25,000 people.
The organisers refused to confirm or deny that Hinn’s visit was cancelled and maintained that the event would go on as planned.
News of Hinn’s visit to the city had sparked a slew of protests across the state.
The protesters alleged that Hinn — a self-proclaimed miracle healer — would attempt to convert people to Christianity under the guise of a prayer meeting, as he had reportedly done in his previous visit to Bangalore in 2005.
Based on a suit filed by two residents of the city, a civil court ordered issuance of emergent notice to Benny Hinn on Monday.
The matter will reportedly be taken up on January 16, and both the event organisers and the state government have sought some time to file their responses.
