Hindu extremists and police officers have assaulted and filed false charges against Christians in India, reports say.
A group of about 20 Hindu extremists assaulted the members of Heavenly Gospel Mission Church in Shahjahanpur District in Uttar Pradesh, India. The incident was also witnessed by police officers but one of them only joined beating the Christians. They were then brought to the police station and charged with the state's new "anti-conversion" law, Christian Headlines reported.
The church pastor, H.S. David, said that the assailants just burst into the worship service, ensured that none of the congregants could escape and started beating them while cursing Christians and Christ. They were told that the beatings will not stop until Christians curse the name of Jesus. The extremists also assaulted the Hindu owner of the church's rented building.
According to Rajat, one of the congregants, they were then dragged outside and the assailants continued to beat them and threatened to kill them. The police officers saw what happened but did nothing.
Another police officer named J. Pratap Singh came and without saying anything, he also beat them with a baton and then arrested them. He also verbally abused the Christian women around and threatened to arrest them.
The Christians were then brought to the police station where they found a group of Hindu extremists waiting for them and in their presence, the head officer of the police station threatened the Christians, cursed Christ and said derogatory caste remarks against them.
Speaking to Morning Star News, Pastor David said that the head officer proceeded to beat them and when the police officers took the injured Christians to a medical clinic, the doctor refused to treat them. They were only asked where they were hurting, wrote something on a paper and gave it to the cops.
They were taken back to the police station and were forced to sign two documents, which the pastor said that they were not even able to read the contents.
The police confiscated some of their personal items such Bibles and Christian literature as evidences of the forced conversion allegations. Other things such as a keyboard, diary, table and other items were also taken. They were finally released at 8:30 p.m. of that day.
The pastor said that aside from the physical injury, the church members were also suffering from emotional trauma. Pastor David himself sustained some internal and external injuries including swelling in his legs and fluid discharge in one of his ears. He also said that during the beatings, they were told that it would not stop unless the Christians praise the Hindu god Rama and curse Christ.
"We were already so much in pain, and the assaulters would just not relent. After the physical torture did not come to an end, we decided to do what they were forcing us to do - we cursed Lord Jesus Christ," he said.
Much to their shock, they have learned that the women and children were also beaten.
The pastor further revealed that before their release, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Rajesh Awasthi approached and threatened him saying that he would spend his entire life in prison. A young boy who accompanies the Hindu extremist leader also told him that he would have to convert to Hinduism.
They were charged under Section 3/5(1) of the state's new law on anti-conversion which prohibits "unlawful conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage."
The pastor questioned the charges filed against them saying that they are only poor people who cannot afford to entice people to convert with money or material things. He also tried to file a complaint about the assault against the Hindu extremists but the police officers simply refused to accept it.
The pastor said that the harassment continues after he received reports that the Hindu extremists were searching for Neha, one of the Christian women who were assaulted. The next day, police officers also came to his area and were heard saying that the extremists should "cut the pastor in pieces" and that they "would take care of the rest."
Pastor David further disclosed that on the last Sunday of December 2020, a man came and recorded a video of their worship service. When they confronted him, he merely shouted at them and threatened too.
According to religious rights advocates, the hostilities against non-Hindus of India's National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has strengthened Hindu extremists' attacks against Christians in several areas of the country since the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to power in May 2014. NDA is being led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Open Doors' 2021 World Watch List ranks India as the 10th country in the world where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country ranked 31st in 2013 but it was made worse during Modi's reign.
