A church in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district was targeted by radical Hindu groups claiming allegiance to Bajrang Dal on Oct 25.
A mob of 40 people belonging to Bajrang Dal stormed into a church at 4 pm on Saturday and attacked Christians who had gathered there for prayer. The church leader issued an email sent by one of the leaders of the local church. The email is reproduced below:
“Today at 4.00 pm our church in Madhotha was attacked by Bajrang Dal (a staunch anti-Christian Hindu group). All of our believers were beaten up. One person’s hand was broken and many others have suffered severe injuries. They have been admitted into the hospital in the nearby city. Some of our believers escaped and ran into the nearby jungles. They are still hiding there. We are trying to report it to the police. The police here tends to be usually non-cooperative. This state has an anti-conversion law and is ruled by a Hindu political party (BJP). Please pray for us.
Reacting to the incident, Sajan George who is the president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) said: “We demand the immediate arrest of the Hindu radicals responsible for the brutal and unprovoked attack against 12 innocent Christians”, made on October 25 in Chhattisgarh.
On the 26th a small group of believers had scheduled a meeting with officials of the local administration. Together they were to discuss a High Court appeal by Christian groups in the area of Bilaspur against the ban on Christian missionaries issued in some villages of the district.
The district officials and the superintendent of police did not show up. Instead, about 40 activists of the Bajrang Dal (youth wing of the radical Hindu movement of the Sangh Parivar) appeared. They attacked the Christians present with sticks and knives, accusing them of practicing forced conversions.
“Despite the name – Sajan George said, “Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act 1968 is an anti-conversion law, which is repeatedly exploited by groups of Hindu fanatics to arrest and imprison Christians, on trumped up charges”.
