Bajrang Dal & RSS activists attack & damage IPC Church; and injure Pastor & Believers in Kushalnagar, Karnataka

Bajrang Dal & RSS activists attack and damage IPC Church

File photo: Bajrang Dal activists on a rampage

Karnataka, November 12, 2012: Pastor Koshy Abraham, 31, is the pastor in charge of the IPC Prayer House, a house church in a rented building in Kushalnagar in Coorg Dt. of Karnataka. He has a congregation of about 55 believers and he has been serving in that place during the last 4 years. He lives with his wife, Jisha Abraham, 28, and a 3 year old daughter.

All the believers had congregated in the church on Sunday, 11-11-2012 for the Sunday Worship Service at 11 am in the morning and the service had just begun when about 20 Hindu radicals belonging to the Bajrang Dal and RSS outfits forced themselves into the church and attacked the believers. They beat up the pastor and the believers alleging that they were forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity. They also burnt up the Bibles lying in the church. They abused the believers using foul language. They also damaged the church windows and the doors. The pastor and some believers were also wounded in the attack and were treated at a private nursing home.

In the meantime, a church believer phoned up to the Kushalnagar police station and informed them about the unprovoked attack against them. Sub-inspector Chikkaswamy, along with a few constables, visited the spot at about 12 noon and held an inquiry about the attack. The GCIC also got in touch with him and the Dy. SP, Paul Varma, and briefed them about repeated attacks by Hindu radicals against the church without any provocation. Later in the evening an FIR was filed, and 5 of the culprits who had attacked the church were arrested. They were subsequently charge-sheeted under IPC sections – 34, 295-A, 143, 144, 147, 148, 323, 324, 149, 427 and 448.

Earlier Hindu radicals attack Pastor and threaten against future worship services in Kushalnagar

Karnataka, October 23, 2012: Pastor Abraham Koshy (31), is in charge of the Indian Pentecostal Church in Kushalnagar in Hassan District of Karnataka during the last 4 years. He has a congregation of about 55 believers and he lives with his wife Jisha, and a 3 year old daughter.

On Sunday, 21-10-2012, he conducted his Sunday Worship Service as usual, which got over at about 12.30 noon, and the believers began dispersing when two Hindu fundamentalists came to the church and began shouting at the pastor alleging him that he has been forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity in Kushalnagar and that if he persisted on his conversion work, he would be forced to face dire consequences. Then they slapped the pastor a couple of times and told him that they prohibit any further worship or prayer services in their church and they have come to warn him about it and if the persisted on holding a worship service the following Sunday, they would come in large numbers and forcibly stop the prayer service at any cost.

Immediately after the incident, Pastor Abraham went and lodged a complaint with the Kushalnagar Dy. SP, Paul Varma, and also briefed him about the incident in the church and the threat by the Hindu fundamentalists. He also requested him to provide the necessary protection to hold prayer services which they had been conducting over the past several years. The Dy SP assured the pastor that necessary protection would be provided and also gave a letter to the Kushalnagar sub-inspector, Chikkaswamy. Instead of complying with his superior’s orders and assuring the pastor necessary protection, the sub-inspector began to cross-examine the pastor as if he was a culprit and questioned him whether he was legally authorized to have a church in Kushalnagar and also whether he possessed a registration certificate to that effect.

– persecution.in