Two Christians Play Dead To Survive Attack In
India
Suspected Hindu Extremists Accuse Them Of ‘Forced
Conversion.’
NEW DELHI, India, July 27, 2010 - (Compass
Direct News) – Two evangelists said they survived
an attack in Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh by playing
dead when suspected Hindu extremists on July 20 surrounded
them and severely beat them.
The six assailants accused Mahindra Kharoley, 20, and
30-year-old Munshi Prasaad Bahey of “forced conversion.”
The two evangelists were bicycling to their home village
of Susua following a prayer meeting at Dunda Sivni,
25 kilometers (15 miles) from Balaghat district, when
the attackers on two motorbikes, with their faces covered,
attacked them in Bhalwa village at around 10 p.m. The
assailants did not wait for them to respond to the
charges of forced conversion before they began hitting
and kicking them, the evangelists said.
“They banged my head on the cement road and hit
me hard with their boots on top of my head, splitting
my forehead,” said Bahey, whose clothes became
drenched with blood in the attack. He sustained a deep
cut on his forehead above his right eye, as well as
internal injuries.
Kharoley suffered internal head, chest and body injuries,
and his right thumb was nearly fractured.
“We lay motionless and pretended to be dead after
they had beaten us about 20 minutes, to escape their
fury,” Kharoley said.
Bahey added, “If we had not done so, they would
have killed us.”
Bahey told Compass that one of the attackers called
another by name, saying, “Mahesh, stop hitting
them, they are already dead – let’s get
out of here.”
With no moonlight, Bahey and Kharoley were left bleeding
in the pitch darkness of the jungle road about 800
meters from their home village. They called fellow
evangelist Kamlesh Nagpure but managed to reach their
village on their own.
“We could not wait for Kamlesh to arrive – we
needed first-aid immediately,” Bahey said.
They were rushed to a government branch health center
in Kirnapur, and then transferred to a hospital in
Balaghat for advanced tests and X-rays.
Kirnapur police accepted a complaint about the incident
but have yet to investigate, the station officer in-charge
told Compass.
“No investigations have been done, and only after
investigating will a First Information Report be filed,” said
Sub-Inspector Sandhir Chaudhary.
He said he had spoken to higher officials about the
incident, however, and that they told him to investigate.
“I am busy till Aug. 5 in other, more important
cases,” Chaudhary said. “I will look into
this only after that.”
Disruptive Guest
In Dunda Sivni, where Kharoley and Bahey had recently
begun to proclaim Christ, an uninvited visitor arrived
at a prayer meeting the day of the attack and began
accusing them of forced conversion, Nagpure said.
Kharoley and Bahey were at the house of 55-year-old
Munnibai Gaurkar, who had recently come to trust in
Christ. Gaurkar had lost her husband and oldest son
due to what she called constant attacks of evil spirits,
and as a result she had decided to attend church, Nagpure
said.
“It was because of this that she started to
attend church and invited us home to pray,” said
Nagpure, who along with his wife and a few others were
also present at the meeting.
During prayer, a visitor named Nand Lal arrived and
asked the evangelists to pray for healing for him,
he said.
“He objected to our taking the name of Jesus
and started to argue about our Christian faith and
belief, and he accused us of forceful conversion,” Nagpure
said. “When he argued relentlessly, sister Gaurkar
asked him to leave.”
After the meeting, they ate dinner together and left
for their respective homes. Nagpure, of Hatta village
seven kilometers (four miles) away, left on his motorbike
with his wife, and Bahey and Kharoley set out in the
opposite direction for their home village.
Bahey said he suspects the involvement of Lal in the
attack.
“The same arguments of Nand Lal were stated by
the unidentified attackers as they started to beat
us,” he said.
The victims named Lal and Mahesh in the application
submitted in the area police station.
Church Building Demolished
Four days before the attack, a church building under
construction in Kotri village, five kilometers (nearly
three miles) from the Kirnapur police station, came
under attack.
Pastor Bhikamp Chaudhary, who has ministered in the
area for 14 years, told Compass that on July 16 between
midnight and 1 a.m., unidentified assailants demolished
the church building.
“The walls had been completely constructed, and
the roof was left [to be built],” Pastor Chaudhary
said. “All the members of the church are so disheartened
because of the demolition, as they had worked very
hard raising funds for the building.”
Construction that started in August 2009 was more than
half completed, said the pastor, whose house is about
500 meters from the site. Around 60 members meet at
his house for weekly worship.
Pastor Chaudhary said police response has been nil.
“Though I have submitted an application in
the Kirnapur police station, the police have not even
come once to visit the site of the broken down church
and have not registered a First Information Report
for my written complaint,” he said.
The pastor said he suspects the hand of a person he
does not wish to name who is closely associated with
the Bajrang Dal, youth wing of the Hindu extremist
World Hindu Council.
Pastor Chaudhary recalled that last year at almost
the same time, in July 2009, some 25 to 30 men entered
his house and dragged him out to beat him. He escaped
when villagers heeded his cries and came to his rescue.
The pastor ministers in 16 villages, including Kirnapur
and areas around Balaghat and leads worship services
in six villages.
# # #
By Shireen Bhatia
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News
Compass Direct News
P.O. Box 27250
Santa Ana, CA 92799-7250
USA
TEL: 949-862-0304
E-mail: info@compassdirect.org
www.compassdirect.org
Suspected Hindu Extremists Accuse Them Of ‘Forced
Conversion.’
NEW DELHI, India, July 27, 2010 - (Compass
Direct News) – Two evangelists said they survived
an attack in Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh by playing
dead when suspected Hindu extremists on July 20 surrounded
them and severely beat them.
The six assailants accused Mahindra Kharoley, 20, and
30-year-old Munshi Prasaad Bahey of “forced conversion.”
The two evangelists were bicycling to their home village
of Susua following a prayer meeting at Dunda Sivni,
25 kilometers (15 miles) from Balaghat district, when
the attackers on two motorbikes, with their faces covered,
attacked them in Bhalwa village at around 10 p.m. The
assailants did not wait for them to respond to the
charges of forced conversion before they began hitting
and kicking them, the evangelists said.
“They banged my head on the cement road and hit
me hard with their boots on top of my head, splitting
my forehead,” said Bahey, whose clothes became
drenched with blood in the attack. He sustained a deep
cut on his forehead above his right eye, as well as
internal injuries.
Kharoley suffered internal head, chest and body injuries,
and his right thumb was nearly fractured.
“We lay motionless and pretended to be dead after
they had beaten us about 20 minutes, to escape their
fury,” Kharoley said.
Bahey added, “If we had not done so, they would
have killed us.”
Bahey told Compass that one of the attackers called
another by name, saying, “Mahesh, stop hitting
them, they are already dead – let’s get
out of here.”
With no moonlight, Bahey and Kharoley were left bleeding
in the pitch darkness of the jungle road about 800
meters from their home village. They called fellow
evangelist Kamlesh Nagpure but managed to reach their
village on their own.
“We could not wait for Kamlesh to arrive – we
needed first-aid immediately,” Bahey said.
They were rushed to a government branch health center
in Kirnapur, and then transferred to a hospital in
Balaghat for advanced tests and X-rays.
Kirnapur police accepted a complaint about the incident
but have yet to investigate, the station officer in-charge
told Compass.
“No investigations have been done, and only after
investigating will a First Information Report be filed,” said
Sub-Inspector Sandhir Chaudhary.
He said he had spoken to higher officials about the
incident, however, and that they told him to investigate.
“I am busy till Aug. 5 in other, more important
cases,” Chaudhary said. “I will look into
this only after that.”
Disruptive Guest
In Dunda Sivni, where Kharoley and Bahey had recently
begun to proclaim Christ, an uninvited visitor arrived
at a prayer meeting the day of the attack and began
accusing them of forced conversion, Nagpure said.
Kharoley and Bahey were at the house of 55-year-old
Munnibai Gaurkar, who had recently come to trust in
Christ. Gaurkar had lost her husband and oldest son
due to what she called constant attacks of evil spirits,
and as a result she had decided to attend church, Nagpure
said.
“It was because of this that she started to
attend church and invited us home to pray,” said
Nagpure, who along with his wife and a few others were
also present at the meeting.
During prayer, a visitor named Nand Lal arrived and
asked the evangelists to pray for healing for him,
he said.
“He objected to our taking the name of Jesus
and started to argue about our Christian faith and
belief, and he accused us of forceful conversion,” Nagpure
said. “When he argued relentlessly, sister Gaurkar
asked him to leave.”
After the meeting, they ate dinner together and left
for their respective homes. Nagpure, of Hatta village
seven kilometers (four miles) away, left on his motorbike
with his wife, and Bahey and Kharoley set out in the
opposite direction for their home village.
Bahey said he suspects the involvement of Lal in the
attack.
“The same arguments of Nand Lal were stated by
the unidentified attackers as they started to beat
us,” he said.
The victims named Lal and Mahesh in the application
submitted in the area police station.
Church Building Demolished
Four days before the attack, a church building under
construction in Kotri village, five kilometers (nearly
three miles) from the Kirnapur police station, came
under attack.
Pastor Bhikamp Chaudhary, who has ministered in the
area for 14 years, told Compass that on July 16 between
midnight and 1 a.m., unidentified assailants demolished
the church building.
“The walls had been completely constructed, and
the roof was left [to be built],” Pastor Chaudhary
said. “All the members of the church are so disheartened
because of the demolition, as they had worked very
hard raising funds for the building.”
Construction that started in August 2009 was more than
half completed, said the pastor, whose house is about
500 meters from the site. Around 60 members meet at
his house for weekly worship.
Pastor Chaudhary said police response has been nil.
“Though I have submitted an application in
the Kirnapur police station, the police have not even
come once to visit the site of the broken down church
and have not registered a First Information Report
for my written complaint,” he said.
The pastor said he suspects the hand of a person he
does not wish to name who is closely associated with
the Bajrang Dal, youth wing of the Hindu extremist
World Hindu Council.
Pastor Chaudhary recalled that last year at almost
the same time, in July 2009, some 25 to 30 men entered
his house and dragged him out to beat him. He escaped
when villagers heeded his cries and came to his rescue.
The pastor ministers in 16 villages, including Kirnapur
and areas around Balaghat and leads worship services
in six villages.
# # #
By Shireen Bhatia
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Copyright 2010 Compass Direct News
Compass Direct News
P.O. Box 27250
Santa Ana, CA 92799-7250
USA
TEL: 949-862-0304
E-mail: info@compassdirect.org
www.compassdirect.org