Five Christian pastors in custody on false allegations of forced religious conversions have been beaten by their jailers.
The Christians were in custody in central Chhattisgarh state. They were arrested after a mob of Hindu extremists had disrupted a church service on 20 July, shouting Hindu slogans and accusing them of forced conversions.
The local police intervened and responded by transporting nearly half the Christian congregation to the police station in Jamul. Six pastors were charged and moved to a jail in nearby Durg. The following morning, they were questioned and asked to remove their clothing for inspection. One of them, Pastor Moses Logan, was spared, as he had told them he was unwell. Upon hearing that they were pastors, the jailor ordered that the other five be beaten.
The jailors hit the pastors on their thighs, the backs of their knees and their buttocks with long wooden sticks—batons that police use in India, Pastor Logan explained. He continued, “The Christian community is no longer safe in their homes, in churches, and now they are not safe even inside jails.”
Other Christian leaders and family members managed to secure bail for the pastors, who were all released on the evening of 21 July. The five who had been beaten are now traumatised and fearful, Pastor Logan added.
A video that was posted on social media shows the mob shouting slogans outside the church meeting, declaring that the pride of the nation is Bajrang Dal (a Hindu nationalist organisation). Pastor Logan had been called by his friend, Pastor Abhinav Baksh, who was leading the meeting. To keep the congregation safe, he had locked the church gate and the church doors.
Pastor Logan added, “Here in Chhattisgarh, the [Hindu extremist groups] are targeting all the smaller churches. Many churches have been shut down. Hindu extremists target every private celebration taking place in Christian homes. They barge into homes, disrupt their joy, create chaos, falsely accuse them of carrying out forced conversions and register false complaints against the Christians.”
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