Pastor attacked after attending private prayer meeting

A Christian pastor was attacked by a mob in Dhamtari in India’s Chhattisgarh State on 21 July, after he attended a house-warming prayer meeting at the home of one of his church members.

According to a local source, the house is next door to a Hindu temple, from which a group of approximately 20 villagers, mostly young adults, had been watching the Christians gather. The group reportedly entered the house and confronted those gathered shortly after they saw Pastor Varghese Chacko arrive in his car, demanding that they stop the prayer meeting, and proceeding to call the police and accuse the Christians of illegal conversion. The police arrived swiftly at the house and asked the pastor to leave.

Pastor Chacko told CSW that the villagers punctured one of his car tyres before he could leave, but that he was able to drive the vehicle to a nearby mechanic to fix it. However, the group then followed him to another temple nearby, where they stopped his car, pulled him out and proceeded to beat him with rods. He suffered bruises all over his body and injuries on his head. They then dragged him to another temple nearby and forced him to kneel down and bow his head before a Hindu idol.

Pastor Chacko was badly beaten, but managed drive to a friend and doctor’s house where he was treated for his wounds and received two stitches. A CT scan at a hospital on 22 July revealed that there were no internal injuries.

Pastor Chacko and the church members have not filed any complaint at the police station so far.

CSW’s CEO Scot Bower said: ‘CSW is deeply concerned for the safety of religious minorities in India today. There is no reason that people of any religion or belief should be fearful of gathering to pray in private, which is a fundamental human right in a nation that prides itself on being the largest democracy in the world, and deeply religious. It is also unacceptable that victims of targeted violence are becoming afraid to report incidents such as these because they are afraid of reprisals. CSW calls on the authorities to act justly and bring the perpetrators of such violence and intimidation to justice.’