Christians in India are finding that the very people who should be
protecting them from attack – the police – are now becoming complicit in their
persecution.
Believers in the east of the subcontinent say officers are increasingly
under the sway of Hindu extremists and are allowing persecution to go ahead
unpunished. Not only are they standing by while Christians are beaten but they
then arrest the victims!
These allegations follow a recent attack on Pastor Ajay Kumar and a Bible
college student called Assaryav in Begusarai district, Bihar state. The men were
lured into a marketplace on false pretences then badly beaten. Their attackers
ordered police not to interfere – and they obeyed.
Pastor Ajay suffered internal injuries and is reported to have persistent
pain in one ear; Assaryav has a leg injury. Senior police who arrived on the
scene later arrested the Christians, not their attackers, and charged them with
‘outraging religious feelings’.
Two days later, Hindu extremists gathered outside the nearby Mahanaim
Church and accused its pastor, Christopher Bhonsle, of ‘forcible conversion’.
Again, police called to the scene took down the Christians’ details and searched
the pastor’s home. They later admitted
to Pastor Christopher that they had acted merely to ‘appease’ the Hindu
extremists.
- Pray for Christians in Begusarai district who reportedly feel exposed and vulnerable as police appear to be siding with the extremists.
- Pray that Bihar state officials will take action against religious intolerance. A recent meeting of church leaders with the state’s chief minister was ‘abruptly cancelled’.
- Ask God to strengthen and comfort His people in Bihar, amid mounting attacks on Christians and especially church leaders.
(Source: Morning Star News) Release Int.
