The wife of a pastor has urged authorities to arrest a man she believes was responsible for setting fire to their church and family home, while also seeking to clear her husband and son of what supporters describe as false criminal allegations.
The incident took place in Nawa Pind village in Punjab's Amritsar district, where Pastor Prakash Singh and his family led a small Christian congregation.
According to the family, tensions had been building for months with a Sikh neighbour, Jaspal Singh, also known as Kalu, who allegedly made repeated hostile remarks about their Christian faith and warned them to leave the village.
The dispute escalated after an altercation on 18 May between Kalu and another church member. Although Pastor Singh said he was working at a construction site at the time and had witnesses to confirm his whereabouts, he and his 18-year-old son, Anand Singh, were later named in a police case linked to the incident.
The pastor said he was forced to leave his home after the complaint was filed, fearing for his family's safety. Supporters claim the accusations were baseless and motivated by religious hostility.
Pastor Puran Shafri, chairman of the All India Christian Samaaj Bhalai Dal in Amritsar, said the organisation possesses an audio recording in which a relative of the complainant reportedly admits that neither the pastor nor his son was involved in the incident.
Shafri also claimed that the accused neighbour has previously faced several criminal cases, including allegations involving illegal drugs and weapons offences.
The situation worsened on the evening of 14 June when the family's church building and adjoining home were engulfed in flames while they were away. Neighbours alerted the family, and local residents, together with firefighters, managed to bring the fire under control.
When Pastor Singh's wife, Paramjit Kaur, returned the next day, she found extensive damage throughout the property. Furniture, household appliances, musical instruments, important documents, Christian literature and 16 Bibles had been destroyed. She also reported that cash had been taken from the house.
Kaur further alleged that while visiting the damaged property, the neighbour threw a brick at her from his house, narrowly missing her. She immediately reported the incident to the police.
A forensic examination later concluded that there was no electrical supply to the property at the time of the fire, making an electrical fault unlikely. The family believes the blaze was started deliberately, although the official forensic report has not yet been released publicly.
Police registered a case on 16 June relating to damage caused by fire. However, Pastor Singh said the complaint does not mention the destruction of Christian scriptures or recognise what he believes was a religiously motivated attack.
Christian leaders have called on investigators to consider additional charges, including those relating to the deliberate desecration of religious texts under Punjab law.
In separate petitions submitted to the Punjab State Minority Commission, Kaur requested the arrest and prosecution of the accused, stronger legal charges, police protection for her family and recognition of the alleged religious motive behind the attack.
The family also asked authorities to remove Pastor Singh and his son from the earlier criminal case, maintaining that they had been wrongly implicated.
The Punjab State Minority Commission has summoned senior police officials to appear in Chandigarh on 6 July to discuss the matter.
Christian leaders also met Punjab's Director General of Police, Harmandeep Singh Gill, seeking action over both the alleged false case and the fire. According to Pastor Shafri, the police chief assured them that the allegations would be properly investigated and that appropriate action would be taken.
Pastor Singh founded the church in 2022. The congregation regularly welcomes around 35 to 40 people for Sunday worship. Before the fire, the family had been living beside the church while completing the construction of their home above the worship hall.
Adapted and rewritten from a report by Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
