Mob Storms New Church's Opening in India's West Bengal, Beating Priests With Bishop Present
Witnesses say 30 to 35 men broke up the Oct. 31 dedication in Narayantala, South 24 Parganas, smashed phones and vowed no more worship there. No arrests have been reported.
See where this is ›BASANTI, India —
A mob of 30 to 35 people broke into the opening service of a newly built church in Narayantala, under the Basanti police station in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, on Saturday, Oct. 31, and beat priests and worshippers while Bishop Subrata Chakraborty of the Church of North India looked on, according to police and a Christian group quoted by the Press Trust of India and The Week.
See where this is ›About 120 people, including roughly 15 priests and believers from several churches, had walked in procession into the Narayantala William Keri church for its dedication, The Week reported. Eyewitness Prodip Mondol told the magazine the mob came in at about 10:30 a.m., some of them drunk, chanting “Jai Shree Ram” and asking whether any Hindus were present.
Witnesses said the men ordered women to take off the sindoor and the traditional bangles worn by married Hindu women and forced them outside, then beat priests, devotees and guests. The attackers damaged the church's cross, smashed the phones of people trying to film and said no songs, prayers or services would be allowed on the property, according to the reports. The Week said the attack lasted about 25 minutes and the church has stayed closed.
“We have received a complaint that 30-35 people entered a church premises and assaulted those present,” a police officer told PTI. Police said they had opened an investigation. The Week reported that police arrived about an hour and a half after the attack, that church leaders turned over video to officers, and that no one had been arrested. “We want the accused to be arrested,” Mondol said.
The Bangiya Christiya Pariseba, a Christian forum in the state, filed the complaint at the Basanti police station and is giving legal help. Herod Mullick, the group's working president, called it “an unprecedented incident where miscreants have beaten up multiple priests” during a dedication with the bishop present. Pastor Subhashish Gayen of the group gathered accounts from witnesses, The Week said. Church leaders, including the bishop, said they will take legal action.
The Week said it was the first attack on Church of North India priests and members in Basanti. PTI reported that a couple of weeks earlier, three Christian families in Paschim Medinipur district told police they were threatened and beaten to make them give up their faith. Earlier in October, a mob forced an early end to a Santhali Bible convention in Nadia district.
What we don't know yet: how many people were hurt and how badly; reports do not give a count. One summary on The Week's page said the bishop was among the injured, but the article itself does not say so. No group has been named as responsible, and Watchman News has not independently confirmed the witnesses' accounts.
