Members of the Christian community, were attacked during a religious gathering in Chhattisgarh’s Patan, were attacked by Bajrang Dal members.
Hindutva goons chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ disrupted the prayers and accused the attendees of the Chhattisgarh’s Patan house of forcing people to convert to Christianity.
The incident, which took place in Patan, Chhattisgarh, was recorded on video by members of the Christian community who had locked themselves inside the house out of fear. Patan is a constituency represented by the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, who is the head of the state’s Congress government.
Speaking to media, Lalchand Sahu, who was present inside the house, said, “We were sitting inside the house. At 12:30 pm, around 30-35 people came with lathis and started hitting our doors, asking us to open the door. Once we refused to open the door, they started abusing us and chanting Jai Shree Ram.”
Victims of the attack in Patan, Chhattisgarh, recorded videos showing the assailants using lathis to hit the door of the house and demanding the people inside to open it. When the victims refused to open the door, the attackers threw water at them and hurled abuses. The victims reported that they had contacted the police over the phone, but the police arrived at the location only an hour later. Members of the minority community stated that the nearest police station from the site was approximately 500 meters away.
The victims accused the police of not taking action against the attackers and instead questioning them, while also taking around 10-12 members from the Christian community into custody. Those detained by the police included Dr. Vinay Sahu, Krishnakant Kurrey, Archana Sahu, Veena Sahu, Seeta Kurrey, Abhishek Sahu, Narendra Sahu, Rohit Sahu, Kumari Nishad, and Keti Nishad.—INP
