By Subhasish Chaudhuri
July 4 (W. Midnapore): Goons allegedly attack interfaith women guests at a private prayer for a newlywed couple. Police allegedly stand and watch.
July 5 (E. Burdwan): Armed mob allegedly vandalises church during Sunday morning prayers, loots cash and belongings. Victims say police were informed about a threat but did not act.
July 5 (S. 24-Parganas): Mob attacks partially constructed church in Buri Bot Tala, Subhas Gram, and damages three rooftop crosses and doors. Sonarpur police initially refused to register a complaint, church members say.
These attacks on Christians and their places of worship have been reported not from usual suspects Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh or Odisha but from Bengal, which recently joined the club of BJP-ruled states.
The Bangiyo Christiyo Pariseba, a state-level Christian advocacy organisation, has accused Hindutva groups of attacking at least three churches and Christian gatherings over the past month to “systematically target the community through vandalism” under “fabricated allegations of forced religious conversion”.
It says the violence has inevitably been accompanied with the perpetrators lodging “baseless” police complaints accusing church members of luring poor Hindus with money to convert, and the police adopting “a partisan role”, sometimes arresting the pastors.
“An unprecedented situation has developed during the past month… and a pattern has been noticed,” Herod Mullick, founder secretary of the Pariseba, told The Telegraph.
This story was originally published in telegraphindia.com. Read the full story here.