Hindu radical attacks assaults pastor's wife in Chhattisgarh

A Hindu radical youth attacked a pastor’s wife in Chhattisgarh, raising concerns about the safety of the minority Christian community in the state.

According to information obtained by Christian Today, Jogi Sahu, 19, allegedly a member of the Hindu radical group, Dharma Sena (Religious Army), severely beat Kantibai, wife of Pastor Kanhaiyalal Sharma, February 19, in Raipur's Sarora Industrial Area, Chhattisgarh.

"Sahu beat up my wife under the pretext of taking revenge for arguing with him over a dispute concerning a common tap for potable water," Compass quoted Pastor Sharma as saying.

Recalling that Sahu was a part of the mob that attacked him in December 2005, Pastor Sharma explained that his wife had objected when Sahu's minor sister had attempted to break away from the queue and collect water at the public tap.

After heated words were exchanged, the girl ran home and complained to her brother, Sahu, who seething with anger, led his two counsins and shadowed Kantibai as she left for home.

Just as Kantibai entered her house, the trio rushed in and dragged her out by the hair and thrashed her in the presence of local residents till she began to bleed from her nose and her eyes became swollen. Her son, Raju, who tried to rescue her, was also beaten.

However, Raju was able to flee and call up his father from a public phone booth. Hearing the news of the incident, Pastor Sharma, who was away on an errand, rushed home and seeing the critical condition of his wife, he escorted her to the Urla police station to file a complaint. However, the police officers refused to register any complaint against the attackers, suggesting that both parties work out their differences on their own.

They also made Kantibai wait for more than two hours for the arrival of the police inspector before allowing her to get hospital treatment, the pastor said. Her doctor suspected a minor nose fracture, he added.

When contacted by Compass, an officer at the Urla police station assured that there was no religious motive for the attack.

However, local Christian leaders suspect that the incident was a mere trigger point for venting opposition to Christian meetings that regularly take place in the pastor’s house.

Pastor Sharma affirmed this by saying that he had faced opposition and isolation in the area ever since he received Christ and left Hinduism five years ago. He has been hosting Sunday worship service in his house since 2002.

"Sections of local people do not like the fact that Christians come to my house for worship every Sunday," he said.

Sahu was one of the attackers in a December 4, 2005 incident in which about 30 Dharma Sena extremists beat five Christians – Masih Das Rai, Anmol Kamble, Ram Vilas Yadav, Ramesh Das Manikpuri and Pastor Sharma. The Hindu extremists attacked while a Sunday worship service was going on in Pastor Sharma's house.

While 30 people were beating the Christians, the Dharma Sena formed a mob of about 200 others who gathered in front of the house to prevent anyone from escaping. After beating the Christians, the Sena extremists tore their clothes and paraded them throughout the area.

They then took the five Christians to a temple where they forced them to bow down to the idols and to shout "Jai Shri Ram [Hail god Rama]." The extremists forced Kamble and Pastor Sharma to sign a document saying they were indulging in forced and fraudulent conversions.

Later, the local police detained Rai and Manikpuri for questioning but refused to file any First Information Report (FIR) against the Dharma Sena, in spite of persistent requests by Christian leaders present to do so.

Christians in Chhattisgarh say the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party which giverns the state allows Hindu extremists to persecute Christians with impunity.