By Sujit Bisoyi
Ever since a mob allegedly assaulted and humiliated him, pastor Bipin Bihari Naik has been living in dread. According to an FIR, Naik was attacked, garlanded with footwear, paraded on the streets, forced to drink drain water and compelled to bow before a temple “against his will”.
But for Naik and his family, the final blow came when his landlord of eight years asked him to vacate his home. “I don’t think my brother will be able to gather the courage to visit the village again, where he stayed for eight years,” his elder brother Udaynath James told The Indian Express. “Is it a sin to practice one’s own faith? Isn’t it a fundamental right in our country?”
On January 4, pastor Bipin Bihari Naik was assaulted by a mob of 15–20 youths at Kandarsinga village under Parjang police station in Dhenkanal district. An FIR — based on a complaint by Naik’s wife — said the pastor had been invited by a village resident to offer prayers for his health when a mob forced its way in and assaulted him.
The attack is the latest in a series of communal incidents in the state. Over the last 19 months, at least six Odisha towns have witnessed curfews and Internet suspensions following communal incidents. In most cases, the accused have been linked to right-wing outfits.
Since the incident, Naik has been living in fear in his native village of Khamar in neighbouring Angul district.
“The owner of the house, where my brother was staying for eight years without a single complaint, asked us to vacate the place within the week, and we did,” James says.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.