Hindu extremists accuse Christian mission of "desecrating" Hindu idol, attack twice

Patna – A mob of Hindu extremists has attacked a Christian mission twice within a month, on the grounds that one of the missionaries had “desecrated” a Hindu idol, Christian Today has confirmed.

The first of such attacks was launched on August 31 when a Hindu mob surrounded a mission compound belonging to the Gospel Echoing Missionary Society (GEMS), the largest indigenous Christian missionary agency in Bihar, and kept it under siege for three days. It contains a school, student hospital, orphanage, hospital and other social service facilities.

Trouble began brewing when a group of young people who were taking part in a religious procession passed the GEMS compound in Sikaria village, Rohtas district, Bihar and Rev. Augustine Jebakumar, director of the mission, objected to the loud music being played as students were studying inside the compound.

According to eye witnesses, those taking part in the religious procession were “mostly drunk” and one of them, in response, assaulted Rev. Jebakumar and struck him in the nose. Soon, others joined in the attack, intent upon killing him.

However, several Christian missionaries, hearing the commotion outside, rushed out from the compound and managed to rescue the mission director. In the melee, about a dozen Christian workers were injured and two of them had to be hospitalized.

The trouble, far from being over, only intensified when someone in the mob switched off the electricity supply to the compound, leading to mass confusion. And, under the cover of darkness, some of the members of the mob broke the Hindu idol they were carrying and put the blame on Rev. Jebakumar for the desecration.

As the news began to spread, around 800 Hindus from the nearby towns and villages, seething with anger, gathered around the compound and demanded the arrest of Rev. Jebakumar.

The siege continued for three days, as the Hindu mob chanted anti–Christian slogans and pelted stones and sticks inside the compound, trapping everyone inside.

“We’ve been trapped inside the compound for the past three days, as there is a big mob right at the entrance of our campus. There are about 100 families and 900 children ... inside the compound,” a GEMS representative wrote to Compass Direct in an e–mail, requesting anonymity.

Finally, on September 3, the mob relented and dispersed when the local police gave in to their pressure and arrested Rev. Jebakumar, who later disclosed that he had cooperated with the arrest as the police admitted they were “unable to control the violent crowd.”

“Sikaria village does not come in the normal route of the procession. It seems the procession was taken there to deliberately create trouble,” said Sohail Ahmed Khan, chairman of the Bihar State Minorities Commission.

According to Khan, members of the Hindu right–wing parties like the Bajrang Dal, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were instrumental in the arrest of the missionary as all of them “want to destabilize the school Christians are running there.”

“I will talk to the police superintendent and ask him not to allow Christians to be harassed,” Khan assured.

However, on September 25, GEMS compound came under siege once again, when a Hindu mob reportedly broke open the gate of the compound and stormed in. According to some eyewitnesses, they “dragged out some of the GEMS staff [from the compound] and brutally thrashed them” before robbing them of their belongings and dumping them in nearby fields.

The attack reportedly left one newly married Christian with a spinal injury and partial paralysis, a Christian doctor with a broken finger, and another with a serious nosebleed.

The Hindu mob also destroyed a motorcycle belonging to one of the Christian workers and several Christian literatures.

Fighting reportedly continued on September 26, when about 250 people who had gathered outside the Christian mission compound protested against the GEMS’ presence in the state. The Hindu mob even attacked GEMS school buses and allegedly damaged several police vehicles, including a riot control vehicle, and broke a policeman’s jaw.

Sunday's (September 25) troubles began when around 16 men and women – including some who had participated in the August attack – reportedly forced a watchman to give them access to the compound, claiming they wanted to carry out a Hindu religious ritual at a river on the opposite side of the compound.

"When they turned back from the river, they found the gate was locked. It is normally locked at about 6 p.m. every day for security reasons," Pastor E. C. Johnson, the regional coordinator of GEMS, told Compass Direct. “Then they broke open the gate and launched an attack on the Christians."

GEMS has protested the attacks and demanded that the police launch a criminal investigation against the 16 attackers.

District Magistrate Vivek Kumar Singh and Police Superintendent Bacchhu Singh Meena were not available for comment.

While no Hindu organization has apparently claimed responsibility for both the attacks, according to Pastor Johnson, the attack was politically motivated and he suspected the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council or VHP) and the RSS. “This is partly because the state assembly elections are near,” he said. “And, to garner votes, they are trying to whip up Hindu sentiments against us.”

“We have also heard that the agitators are now planning to construct a temple near the compound,” Pastor Johnson added.

GEMS members confirmed that a few hours after Rev. Jebakumar was arrested, the mob planted a flag on land adjacent to the compound. The land was donated on September 2 by a neighbor sympathetic to the mob for the construction of a Hindu temple. Local BJP politician Joshi has reportedly promised a large sum of money for construction costs.



Bihar state came under the President’s Rule on March 7 after the state governor, Buta Singh announced that no local political party was in a position to form a stable government.

State assembly elections are scheduled to begin on October 18. Election results will be announced on November 22.

According to 2001 census figures, Christians make up less than 2 per cent of Bihar’s total population of 83 million.