Chhattisgarh sees Christian community protest as the Bajrang Dal continues to accuse them of religious conversion.
By SABRANGINDIA
In February, in Durg, Chhattisgarh, members of the Bajrang Dal reportedly assaulted pastors after accusing them of religious conversions. The episode sparked outrage within the Christian community and protests took place demanding police intervention. In a video released by the Hate Detectors on February 15 on the social media site, X, the pastors can be seen injured at the hospital. Similarly, on March 3 the Bajrang Dal again attempted to reportedly create a ruckus outside a church in Durg. The incident took place on Sunday, which is a day when prayers and congregation were taking place in the Church. The Bajrang Dal members arrived that day and rallied accusations at the church asserting that conversions were being carried out in the church, they also started chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans outside the church. The police reached the scene and nearly a dozen people were injured in the stone pelting and assault with sticks that took place, according to ABP Live. The Bajrang Dal also gave a warning against religious conversions.
Speaking to IAN 24, local media, Bajrang Dal members can be seen asking for the demolition of the Church, “This is our work, where the Hindu Samaj’s population is more, and we will stop conversion (of Hindus) there. To stop the ‘love jihad’ and conversion of our Hindu sisters is also our duty.” The police have stated that they received information about a huge gathering of people in the area, after which the police reached there and handled the situation. The police have also said that they are conducting an inquiry and preparing to identify people via the CCTV footage available.
Christians in the area gathered and spoke against the incident. One individual spoke to the KP News in a report from March 4, saying, “Aaradhna was going on in the Church. The Bajrang Dal people came to the Church and were doing a lot of ruckus. We were standing there to protect our people. The police came and tried to separate the people. The Bajrang Dal were asking for the Church to shut down. Who has given them the right to ask that?” Several of the people at the gathering showed their injuries to the reporter that they incurred on Sunday.
This story was originally published in sabrangindia.in. Read the full story here.