India: Off-duty police officer among Hindu mob attacking Christian prayer meeting

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – An off-duty police officer joined a mob of Hindu nationalists who attacked a gathering of 15 Christians gathered in a private home in India’s Chhattisgarh state last month, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

The 15 Christians were at a prayer meeting in Chhattisgarh state’s Sukma District when the mob of Hindus stormed into the home at around 9 pm, CP said. An off-duty police officer identified only as Kitto was with the mob, which demanded that the Christians renounce their faith in Jesus.

In seeking to assist the believers who were attacked, the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum met with the Superintendent of Police of Sukma District and the state’s director general of police to make a formal complaint, CP reports. When no action was taken to register their complaint formally, a number of Christians who had been attacked went to the police station to complain again. This time Kitto and another officer identified only as Major beat up the group of believers, which included women and a Christian constable from the very same police station.

On October 25, the two officers who carried out the beatings, as well as the Christian constable who had tried to register a complaint about the original attack on the prayer meeting, were reportedly suspended, CP said. As of November 4, it was not known what further action will be taken.

In a statement about the case, Christain Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) founder Mervyn Thomas said.“The persistent targeting of Christians by right-wing religious fundamentalists, including in their own homes, is extremely worrying, as are frequent allegations of law enforcement complicity in attacks perpetrated against religious minorities.”

Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014, India now ranks 10th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2022 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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