Police, Hindu extremists attack pastor in Andhra Pradesh

Police officers and members of the Hindu nationalist outfit, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) colluded to lure a pastor into a remote forest in Andhra Pradesh where he was severely beaten with wooden clubs and left to die.

On March 11, Pastor Bakhthula Anand, 48, of Bethesda Prayer House in Ambojipeta village, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, was reading a Bible in his home adjacent to a church when suddenly he was approached by two policemen who requested him to accompany them as the Ramayampet circle inspector wanted to meet him.

En route, suddenly, a group of 30–35 RSS activists pounced on them and dragged the pastor towards a remote forest area near the Ambojipeta village. Suspecting foul play, the pastor turned to the police for help but found that they had vanished, leaving him at the mercy of the Hindu extremists.

"Pastor Anand recognized one of the extremists – though he did not know his name – as he had attended Sunday worship at the Bethesda Prayer House occasionally for the past six months," said Sajan K. George, president of Christian advocacy group, Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC).

Pastor Anand also noticed that one of the RSS extremists had a bag containing ropes and wooden clubs.

"They took me to an isolated area in the interior part of the forest, tied my hands behind my back, and also tied my feet," Pastor Anand recalled, adding that the RSS activists, accusing him of forcibly converting people to Christianity, began slapping and beating him.

According to the pastor, the person who had attended the services at the Bethesda Prayer House vehemently alleged that he was witness to Pastor Anand telling people to convert. He also accused the pastor of luring people with foreign money which some Americans had given to him if they embraced Christ.

Hearing this, the extremists began shouting anti–Christian slogans and thrashed him with wooden clubs and sticks on his arms, legs and body and interrogated him for several hours.

Finally, assuming that the pastor was dead, the mob left him in the forest and dispersed. Bleeding and swollen all over, the pastor, however, managed to crawl back to his home and call for medical assistance.

Meanwhile, Ramayampet Circle Inspector Yadagiri Raju and Anil Kumar, sub–inspector of Shankarampet police sub–station have both denied calling Pastor Anand to the police station or having any knowledge of the assault on him.

According to Lionel Francis, GCIC coordinator, the Hindu extremists run a well–knit network of spies and have attacked pastors who are suspected of being involved in religious conversions.

"This is a pattern of behavior with the RSS in this Telangana area," Francis said. "The RSS run a well–knit spy network to attack independent pastors. They attend Christian prayer services, pass on information and then plot to attack the pastors."

In the Telangana area, he added, members of the youth wing of the RSS frequently disrupt prayer services and make lewd comments to pastors walking along the road, besides making threats of physical abuse.

"But nothing can be done, as they have the tacit support of the police," Francis said. "At times," Francis added, "these RSS guys masquerade as police officials and take pastors into the forest and murder them."

Pastor Anand planted the Bethesda Prayer House in 1995 and has a congregation of around 200 believers. He has a network of small churches that he has planted in Telangana Region.