Odisha: 7 critically injured after 400 attack village church with axes

A group of Christians were attacked by a large Hindutva mob in Odisha’s Malkangiri district during a seed blessing ceremony, a religious ritual seeking blessings for a good harvest and fertile land.

The incident occurred on June 21 in a church in Kotamateru village, when 300-400 individuals forced their way wielding axes and attacked the worshippers. Seven Christians were grievously injured, reported local media.

Due to the remote location of the village, the Malkangiri police were not informed of the attack until a local got in touch with a nearby pastor. On information, they rushed the critically injured to the Malkangiri district hospital.

An FIR in connection with the same was filed on June 23. There have been no arrests so far.

Soon after, Malkangiri Pastors Fellowship, Malkangiri District Christian Mancha submitted a petition to the superintendent of police alleging the attack was orchestrated by Bajrang Dal.

However, following the lacklustre response from the police, several members of the Christian community protested on June 26 in front of the SP’s office, demanding compensation, suspension of the officials involved in the case and police protection from future attacks.

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Advocate and human rights activist Friar Ajay Kumar Singh told Maktoob Media that Hindutva groups have become stronger since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in Odisha last year in October. “Despite multiple delegations meeting with the SP, no arrests have been made. If no action is taken, the perpetrators will feel emboldened to carry out similar attacks,” he said, adding, hate crimes against Christians have considerably increased over the last year.

He also condemned the usage of minorities as vote banks during election time, saying, “We are not seen as citizens with rights, but as electoral pawns.”

According to Bishop Dr Pallab Lima, Christians are being pressured to reconvert to Hinduism by leaders affiliated with Hindutva ideology. “Those who are Christian by birth have resisted,” he said.

Bajrang Dal denies involvement

Meanwhile, Bajrang Dal district leader Sibapada Mirdha categorically denied any involvement in the June 21st attack but stated “forced conversions” as an upsetting trend. Claiming the incident was entirely autonomous community action, he said, “Sometimes there is a spontaneous reaction to this.”

This comes mere weeks after the Bajrang Dal forcibly removed a Catholic nun from a train in Odisha, and attempted to file an FIR against her at Khurda police station for illegal, ‘forced’ conversions. She was detained in connection with the same, and later released when found innocent.

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