After pastor Abhinaya Darshan and his associates were arrested in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district’s Paderu for staging an attack on himself, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister V. Anitha on Friday directed the police to conduct an in-depth investigation into the case, suspecting a larger conspiracy.

Darshan, who is associated with the Citizen Protection Force and claims to be a pastor, stoked a controversy alleging that he was attacked by unidentified persons at Chintapalli in the ASR district on May 18. However, after a preliminary investigation, the Paderu police reportedly found that the attack had been conspired and created by Darshan himself along with a group of associates, aimed at gaining public sympathy, political mileage, attracting social media attention and creating communal tension.

Ms. Anitha said several suspicious aspects surrounding the incident had raised serious doubts and pointed towards a possible larger conspiracy, questioning how videos related to the alleged attack went viral almost immediately after the incident and how the news spread rapidly across social media platforms within a short span of time.

“The police would investigate the financial transactions, his [pastor’s] motive, and whether there was any political motive behind the incident. All these questions will be answered during the course of the investigation,” she said while interacting with the media in Visakhapatnam.

Ms. Anitha also revealed that Darshan already has criminal cases registered against him.

Hailing from Kadapa, Darshan came to Paderu and impersonated himself as a pastor and allegedly misled innocent tribal people in the Agency areas, ASR Superintendent of Police Amit Bardar said, adding that the accused has attempted to tarnish the image of the State government and create unrest by provoking religious sentiments.