Police Join Radicals in East India Church Assault
A pastor and members of his church in Eastern India were attacked and beaten by Hindu radicals aided and abetted by police officers, according to an advocacy group based in Bangalore.
The Global Council of Christians (GCIC) alleges that Pastor Siddarama Gokhavi, 60, and church members were attacked by over 20 Bajrang Dal (Army of Hanuman) activists during a Sunday worship meeting in Ananda Nagara, Bihar.
"A slogan-chanting mob, led by Raghavendra, the local goon, came to the church and destroyed worship equipments and unleashed [a] riotous attack," reported GCIC.
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In response, the Karnataka police, who were alerted of the incident, dragged Gokhavi and six others to physically torture and injure them, the advocacy group added.
"The highly motivated radicals burnt Bibles and Christian literatures. In the savage attack, Pastor Gokhavi and his wife, Rekha Gohavi, were taunted and injured," claimed GCIC.
The pastor and his family were accused of persuading Hindus to convert to Christianity – the same reason why they have been threatened and detained.
Although the conditions of the pastor and believers are stable, GCIC said it is dismayed and shocked to discover that even senior police officers, including the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), were directly involved with the radicals in what it labeled as a hate crime.
