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Pastors attacked in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
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Written by Correspondent
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Sunday, 14 September 2008 |
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 Two Christian pastors were attacked, allegedly by Bajrang Dal activists, in Govind Nagar locality in Kanpur, late on Sunday night. The wife of one of the pastors was also attacked. The attackers accused the pastors of converting people to Christianity by offering money and other incentives.
According to police sources, Bajrang Dal activists intercepted pastors Anil Gilbert, Jitendra Singh and the latter’s wife Helena Singh near the CTI crossing when the three were returning home late on Sunday night. The three belong to the New India Church of God in Kanpur. "The attackers first began accusing us of forcibly converting people to Christianity and when we protested, they began beating us. After the incident, we went to the Govind Nagar police station and were shocked to find hundreds of Bajrang Dal and BJP activists already present there. They were shouting slogans against us and were demanding action. Some of them tried to rough us up there too," said pastor Anil Gilbert on Monday.
Sensing the mood of the crowd that had gathered there, the police tried to pacify the Bajrang Dal leaders and later took written complaints from both the parties. The police later escorted the pastors safely to their homes. Meanwhile, several Christian organisations held a meeting on Monday to condemn the incident. Christian leaders said that such instances were on the rise in Kanpur and the district administration had hardly made any efforts to check the Bajrang Dal activities after last year’s attack on a Christian prayer meeting in Chakeri area. It may be recalled that Bajrang Dal activists had also attacked the Loreto Convent school in Lucknow a year ago, after reports that some school girl had fainted during a prayer meeting in the chapel. Christian leaders said that they would soon meet the senior officials and demand action against the offenders and security for the community members in Kanpur. (Asian Age 16/9/08) |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 04 November 2009 )
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