A Hindu radical mob attacked Christians gathering for a convention at St. Thomas Church in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh creating ruckus, smashed flower pots and broke furnitures on Friday evening; they also went on to assault convention attendants who were staying in the school nearby.
Over 200 Christians from Mandla and Narsingpur districts were attending the convention when the attack took place.
"A 200-strong mob stormed the premises of St Thomas Church, manhandled devotees and vandalised property," said Marco Baba, general secretary of Isai Mahasangh to Times of India. "Then they marched towards St Aloysius Church where they assaulted four believers," said Baba.
The mob alledgely consisting of Bajrang Dal and Dharam Sena accused Fr. Thankachan Jose of converting Hindus to Christianity and broked earthen pots and shattered glass panes of windows of the parsonage.
On the wee hours of Monday, six persons all belonging to Hindu radical outfit Dharam Sena were arrested.
"We have arrested six persons involved in attacking the Catholic school and cathedral premises," Jabalpur's Additional Superintendent of Police Isha Pant told PTI.
Those arrested have been identified as Dharam Sena leader Yogesh Agrawal, and his associates Nitin Rajak, Prateek Pyasi, Anurag Choukse, Abhishek Choukse and Sharad Rao, the ASP said.
They have been booked under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 294 (punishment for obscene acts or words in public), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 427 (mischief) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, besides other relevant sections, she said.
Although Fr Thankachan and police officials held talks with leaders of the Hindu outfits to ease the situation, some of them stormed into the premises and started abusing them, according Ravi Francis, a witness.
Police then chased them from the school premises but they refused to give in and marched to the nearby Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral where the first day of the convention was held.
The activists then barged into the Cathedral premises shouting 'Jai Shree Ram' and demanded that Fr Thankachan be handed over to them. As they could not find him there, they vandalised the parsonage, close to the Cathedral, Francis alleged.
"Though our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, it is being violated openly," Fr Thankachan told PTI.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh has assured stern action against the perpetrators, "I will go to any extent to protect minorities. I will do everything to end the sense of insecurity prevailing among minorities."
One Christian leader who chose to remain anonymous told Christian Today that such statement from the Home Minister makes no much sense, although Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself spoke strongly against the divisive forces, attack on churches continue to happen. "Unless they take their words seriously, words alone will not do," the leader said.
The attack on the church came after a series of church attacks in Delhi where 5 churches and one school were targetted, all happening within 3 months; and also a church in Hisar district of Haryana was vandalized few weeks ago and also the gruesome gang-rape of a 71-year-old nun in West Bengal.
