Christian workers at destitute home attacked, arrested in Karnataka

Eight Christian workers, including 6 men and 2 women, at a home for the destitute in Karnataka were assaulted by a huge mob of villagers and subsequently arrested and jailed on false charges of wrongful confinement and abduction.

On October 14, about 500 villagers stormed the Lourd Matha Seva Ashram home for the destitute in Thyagarathi village, near Sagar, Karnataka, provoked by false television reports that the administrators were in abduction and illegal trafficking of human organs.

According to Compass, the Christian workers were remanded to judicial custody by the Shimoga district court until October 28 on charges of "unlawful assembly, wrongful confinement, abduction and cheating."

Many of the residents at the Ashram home are mentally handicapped, Compass reported.

"Hindu radicals are behind the harassment of the Christian home, and they have levied several fabricated charges, including trafficking in human organs, against the Christians," Compass quoted Sajan K. George, national president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), as saying.

According to George, Hindu villagers bore a grudge against the Christian workers for a long time.

George said that on October 12, one inmate escaped from the destitutes' home and when two of the Christian workers went looking for him, some young people from the village surrounded and attacked them, suspecting them of forcibly converting the inmates to Christianity.

The villagers also threatened them with dire consequences and dragged them to the Sagar police station, where they were detained. Subsequently, the police released them on the following day on condition that the Ashram home would remain closed for one month.

"However, at 10:30 a.m. on October 14, about 500 people from the surrounding villages, who had seen false reports on two local TV channels, Udaya TV and ETV, barged into the Ashram and attacked all six male officials," George recalled.

Soon after the attack, police arrived and sealed off the premises, moving all inmates to a government hospital in Sagar. They also arrested the eight Christian workers and detained them for questioning.

According to sub–inspector P.B. Hanummanthappa of the Sagar police station, a 75–year–old inmate, Hanumanta Gouda, had reported to the police that the Christian administrators had illegally confined 24 residents, forcing them to work hard and making them injest strong medicines.

Though reports of trading in human organs were false, the sub–inspector said that investigations were underway as the home had not complied with some administrative requirements. "About six months ago, the eight had also buried two old people without obtaining the death certificates," Hanummanthappa said. "Besides, they do not have any permit to run the home."

Hanummanthappa recalled that another inmate identified only as Charlie had run away from the home. He had made accusations similar to those of Gouda to villagers, who became infuriated and tried to attack officials of the Ashram home.

"However, they could not attack anyone," the sub–inspector said.

Asked if Hindu extremist organizations were behind the allegations, he said, "It is the local residents who are against the Christians."