Christians attacked, harassed in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

16-09-2008

On Sunday 14.9.08 evening, a Christian, couple Karan and Mahima were preparing to welcome three visitors, Manoj (30), Abhishek (25) and Monu (25), to their home in connection with a marriage proposal for Mahima’s sister Neha. They lived in a building belonging to their church, the New India Church of God, Govindnagar, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The pastor, Rev. Jitendra, had purchased and registered the property with the help of a lawyer, Baburam Vajpayee who was also a real estate broker and also helped to get it registered for the church.

(Pastor Jitendra Singh (38) and his wife Halina have been working here for the past 11 years. However later Vajpayee became active in the Bajrang Dal and began to harass them for conducting church services there. Hence Pastor Jitendra moved the services to another location, gathering under a tent in a campus elsewhere, and permitted Karan and Mahima who were members of the church to stay in the building to care for it. Mahima’s young sister also joined them to give her company as Karan did not want his wife alone at home when he was away at work.)

Suddenly Baburam Vajpayee, along with 8 other BJP and Bajrang Dal people turned up at the building and asked them to come out. When they came out, Vajpayee and his group started abusing them, beating the men and began to harass the ladies Mahima and Neha. Karan, Manoj, Abhishek and Monu were attacked with sticks, causing injuries on their backs, legs and hands. Then the attackers called the Govindnagar police station and handed over Manoj, Abhishek and Monu to them. Mahima and Neha in the meantime rushed to Pastor Jitendra’s house and informed him of the matter, and he, his wife Halina and another Pastor Anil Gilbert (47) working with him rushed to the police station. But the Inspector was not willing to release them out of fear of the BJP and Bajrangis.

At this time, another church member Abhishek Paul (24), hearing of the incident, rushed straight to the church where he too was caught by Baburam Vajpayee and others, who beat him up and forced him to call Pastor Jitendra. When Jitendra, his wife and Pr Gilbert rushed back to the church building in answer to his call, to the Church around 80 Bajrangis surrounded them as they got out of their small car, abusing Pastor Jitendra and saying “You are converting people here”. They shouted, “Jai Shri Ram”, and sent for petrol to burn them and the church. They roughed Jitendra up, pulled and pushed him into the church campus. Fortunately, police arrived in time to rescue the trio and take them back to the Govindnagar police station. As they were on their way to the police station Pastors Jitendra and Gilbert called called many city Pastors and informed them about the situation and asked them to come to the police station so many pastors in the city also rushed to the police station.

But again, when they reached the police station there was a huge mob of around 600 to 700 BJP and Bajrang Dal members, shouting pro-Hindutva and anti-Christian slogans and threatening to kill all the pastors and their churches. With great difficulty the police took them inside. Meanwhile the BJP and Bajrangis were totally aggressive with the Pastors, pushing them and pulling them, and saying, “We will burn them and their churches down. We will create an Orissa here. We will do what happened in Orissa here also.” The chaos went on for a long time. Then the Pastors who had assembled outside called the Assistant District Magistrate and requested him to intervene. The ADM made a phone call and talked to the Officer in charge of Govind Nagar police station, and finally around 12:30 am, Pastor Jitendra and his wife, Pastor Gilbert, and Manoj, Abhishek and Monu were escorted by the police back to their houses. A case has been filed against Pastor Jitendra for converting people and another complaint that he beat the people. The police, also under pressure, told Jitendra not to continue the Gospel work, sharing the gospel and converting people. The pastors of the city are planning to meet a number of Government officials. Pray for the church and the situation in Kanpur.

http://www.persecution.in/node/3123