Global council of Indians seek justice for Christians

Please visit our web site depicting 174 attacks against christians in 2006 as on 1th Nov06 (www.persecution.in)

Jan 1st,2006 Martyred for Christ on 1st January 06.
Jimendra (Muntu)(35) was murdered on the way between Rakia and Barakhema in Orissa.
Fact Finding report of martyred Pastor Jimendra Nayak ( Mantu) age 35- of Barakhema, in Baliguda police station limits of Kandhamal, Orissa ,Eastern District of India
Pastor Jimendra Nayak was a pastor of Indian Church Assembly. He Was working at Penthakata, Puri district for last two years. Before moving to Puri he was working in his native place Beradakia churh at Kandhamala district of his own locality

People interviewed :
Mr Samsing Digal ( martyrs Father) Mr Saban Digal, Mr Jisaih Digal ( Cousin) Mrs Masiah Digal(Martyrs Mother) Mrs Sashirekha Pradhan ( Martyrs widow) Mrs Bebina Nayak,Mr Kunal Pradhan, Mr Binod Pattanik( co –passenger in the auto) local drivers.

The doctor who did the post-mortem and the Officer in charge in the police station was not available for their comments.

Incident
On the first day of January pastor Nayak went to Beradaika Church for preaching the word of God in the New year service. He returned to his own village Barakhema from Baliguda by an auto rickshaw at 8pm. On his way back home Pastor Nayak died under a mysterious” accident”
Our investigation of the matter revealed the following
The owner driver is linked with radicals and he was driving vehicle number OR_07L_2054. The pastor was sitting in the right side and the vehicle was going in the left side of the road. His head was found smashed and body was still inside the cabin, the auto driver had no injuries and the glass of the auto has no major damages.

An unknown person dumped the dead body in the Baliguda hospital and the auto was moved from the so called accident spot without proper procedures
In spite of the repeated visits even today(14thFeb) the post-mortem report was not given to the relatives
We were informed that at first the Police officer refused to accept complaint about the suspected murder from the widow and relatives. The officer in charge scolded the person who helped the widow in preparing petition for inquiry. No action was taken even after receiving the complaint.

Police version is based on the evidence given by Mr Binod Pattnaik, a suspected sympathizer of Hindu radicals that it was an accident.
All circumstantial evidences and the indifference of the hospital and police show that this was a planned murder. The persons we interviewed near the bus stand were telling that some unknown people were making discreet enquiries about pastors movements, time of the prayer service etc.

The information gathered from other drivers in Baliguda revealed that Khanu who carried Pastor Nayak(Muntu) in his auto rickshaw was spending lavishly money on liquor and others.
The information from his relatves and widow revealed that the radicals were after him and he had many encounters regarding his work among Hindus. They had warned him and restrained him from carrying out his missionary work among his people. His love for Christ waded him through all his difficult times.

The widow and his family wants to continue the great commission of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ
Martyred pastor Sasirekha (30yrs) and 1year old son Nayak,14 year old sister and 8 year old handicapped brother and old parents are living testimony for the great martyrdom of Pastor nayak ( Muntu)

450-NSS-002 January 2nd 2006 Anti-conversion bill resurfaces in Jharkhand State 02 Jan. The government of Jharkhand State is considering an anti-conversion bill. While the legislation is aimed at protecting the tribal culture, The sad thing is what this bill will be used for is to harass Christian ministries who are reaching people
450-NSS-003 Church destroyed
January 3rd 2006 Umrakot Village in Orissa, India Police decided to allow a make-shift Hindu temple but banned Christians from worshiping at a nearby house church following a conflict that led to Hindu fundamentalists attacking four people. Hindu extremists had set up the temple near the house church in Umarkote village, Orissa state, in October 2005. They then complained to police that the house church worship was disturbing their own rituals
On Friday, Dec. 30,06 the extremists attacked three women who had come to the house for a weekly prayer and fasting meeting were attacked and warned them to stop attending services. They also slapped a church member, Samraj Rai, who had come to warn the women, and damaged his motorbike. Police interrogated the pastor and other church members regarding accusations that they were forcibly converting Hindus but declined to register the Christians’ complaint over the assault. On January 3, police said they would allow the Hindu temple built on public land to continue to function. The Christians, however, were banned from holding services in Nag’s house

450-NSS-004.
January 6th-
VHP meeting in the area of Jamdoli near Jaipur
Hindu Militants Say Missionaries Spread Gospel at Gunpoin- The leader of an influential hard-line Hindu organization has accused Christian missionaries of converting people to Christianity by threatening them with force, Friday, January 6. Ashok Singhal, who leads the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or ‘World Hindu Council’ said local people “were being terrorized into conversion by different Christian missionaries,” using Naxalites, a loose term used to define groups waging a violent struggle. Naxalites include revolutionary Communist groups claiming to fight on behalf of landless laborers and tribal people against landlords and others to create a classless society. Speaking at the beginning of a three-day VHP meeting in the area of Jamdoli near Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan state, claimed that “all those who dared to obstruct them were told that they would be gunned down by Naxalites.”

450-NSS-005.
January 12th 2006.
Attack on Pastor Aharon, Nizamabad project 450-0034
Pastor M.Aharon is a pastor of Indian Pentecostal Church and he is in the ministry for the last 16 years. The radicals hatched a plan to severely attack him and to publish the attack in India with a hidden agenda of restraining other pastors in carrying out gospel work in India. During the prolonged attack on 12th January the radicals were reminding pastor Aharon the fate of Pastor Daniel, Pastor Issac Raj who were martyred near Hyderabad last year

450-NSS-006
January 13th 2006 .
Attack on Pastor David – 450-0035
Extremists belonging to the RSS attacked Christians as they attended a birthday party at Domakonda village in Nizamabad on January 13. “The attack took place at 11:30 a.m. in the house of Srinivas Balraju, a Christian who was celebrating his daughter’s birthday with his other Christian friends Kadiri Mohan Reddy, an RSS supporter, kicked David and the others in the chest and abdomen; David fell unconscious there. The other four also suffered stomach injuries. When Balraju and his sister-in-law tried to stop the attackers, they also were roughed up. After the attack, the extremists put David on their motorbike and took him to the Pochamma (Hindu goddess) temple and threw him there. Then they fled from the scene and went to the police station, where they alleged that they attacked David because he was tearing off pictures of Hindu gods.

450-NSS-007.
23rd January 2006
Persecution in Malkangiri, Orissa.
On 23rd January ‘06, four IET missionaries namely P. Bijay Kumar, G. Baldash, Gideon Challan and Ramesh Suna had gone to village Koikonda of Motu Thehsil, Malkangiri District, Orissa State for a special meeting. The RSS (Rashtriya Swayam Sewak) Hindu radicals came to know about this meeting and went to the village in search of the gathering place.
They interrupted the meeting and forcibly entered into the audience and
took out the missionaries. After pulling them out, they beat them up
inhumanly. Brother Bijay Kumar and Brother G. Baldash became unconscious. The missionaries who were severely beaten up were taken to the District Hospital around 9 pm. Village Koikonda is more than 60 kms away from Malkangiri District. Among the
missionaries three are under treatment but Bro. Bijay Kumar is very serious who is still not recovered from the trauma

450-NSS-008.
Wednesday January 25, 2006
CHRISTIANS ATTACKED, HOUSES BURNED IN ORISSA
No relief provided to Christians, who remain without shelter, food or spare clothes.
January 25 -A pastor and his cousin charged with attempted forced conversion in Orissa state were released on bail yesterday, while five Hindu villagers charged with assault and setting fire to the pastor’s house are still in custody. On January 15 Hindu villagers attacked Rabindra Mallick as he returned home from a nearby market. The next morning, a group of about 15 villagers armed with sticks stormed the home of his older brother, Pastor Kulamani Mallick, and assaulted him and his family. Pastor Mallick and two other family members required hospital treatment for minor injuries. The assailants set fire to their house, and seven adjacent houses also were burned and destroyed – in total, six homes belonging to Christians gutted. Shortly thereafter a village woman accused the pastor and two of his relatives of forced conversion.

450-NSS-009.
20 Bajrang men ransack house 25.01.06. Mangalore
A Group of 20 suspected Bajrang Dal activists barged into a house at Kelrai near Neermarga on Tuesday and ransacked the house, damaging property worth Rs.100,000.Police said the activists surrounded the residence of one Alwyn and started hurling stones at the windowpanes around noon. The mob then gained entry into the residence and ransacked the valuables. A car parked in the compound, a television set, refridgerator, and other house hold articles were damaged in the attack.

450-NSS-0010 – Police disrupt Prayers and arrest
25th January 2006. Tribal Pastors attacked and beaten up by the police at Chapri Village, Jhabua District
25th January 2006: In a gross violation of human-rights a group of local policemen barged into a Christian home where a prayer meeting had to be conducted in Chapri village of Jhabua in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and beat up two tribal pastors who were supposed to leading the prayer meeting.
On Wednesday morning at 10:30 am, as local Christians had gathered
together for a time of prayer at Rai Singh’s home, as many as nine
policemen belonging to the state police barged into the Christian
home a few minutes before the prayer meeting could begin.

In utter disregard of their responsibilities as keepers of law, they
badly beat up the two tribal pastors who had to lead the prayer
meeting. After beating the two pastors of the Philadelphia Church of Chapri, namely Rai Singh Amblia at whose house the meeting was going on and Hatehsingh Rawat mercilessly, the police put them into their vehicle
and dragged them to the police station repeatedly threatening them of
dire consequences if they continued to gather together for prayer or
for any other kind of “Christian activity”. Raisingh and Hatesingh were locked up in custody for more than four hours where they were not only beaten up more but their Christian faith was also mocked at. The pastors were assaulted on their stomach and hands and the policemen also struck blows on their neck. The wounds which the two pastors received as a result of the police beatings forced them to be taken to the local hospital the next day.

450-NSS-0011-Arrest
26th January 2006Three Christian leaders belonging to the Church of Nazrene were arrested Thursday the 26th January 2006 at Jabalpur on grounds of indulging in forced conversion of tribal’s. The local police acting on the directions of Sudhir Agarwal of Dharam Raksha Samiti conducted a raid on the Gurudev lodge in Madan Mahal area of Jabalpur in order to scare the tribals who had voluntarily put up at the lodge to spend the night while on their way to attend a Christian convention organized by the Church of Nazarene at Nagpur city in Maharashtra. The tribals were going to participate in the convention by their own free will from 27th January 2006 onwards.
After conducting the raid at the lodge, the police under the leadership of City Police-Inspector Siddarth Chaudhary arrested the three Christian leaders namely Pravin Pawar, Sanat Pawar and Maclin Masih. They were arrested and put into custodial lock-up.

The three Christians have been accused and booked under Section 420 and Article 4 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Ordinance. The police have also confiscated Christian literature, documents related to the Church of Nazrene and 35 passenger tickets of a private bus agency. Anti-Christian reports appearing in the regional media have made the situation critical as it may lead to a flare up in the situation leading to further attacks on the Christian community. According to these completely one-sided and biased reports investigations have revealed that 23 tribals were being taken from Dindori district to Nagpur to forcibly make them participate in a convention of the Christian community in order to convert them forcefully. The police on the falsely accused Christians. As the misinformation against Christians was spread by the Hindu fundamentalists among Hindus living in and around the Gurudev lodge, a large mob of Hindus, mostly mobilized by the Dharma Raksha Samiti, gathered together and beat the Christians black and blue. They continued to thrash the Christians even as the police tried to register a case against the Christians. Activists belonging to the militant wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak sangh shouted anti- Christian slogans while all this was going on and tried to incite
communal frenzy.

450-NSS-0012 Arrest
January 26th.
Three Korean nationals arrested

Three Korean nationals were arrested by the HAL police near Bangalore city on charges of forcefully trying to preach their religious belief to a resident of Doddanagundi on 26th Thursday ,January 2006. According to police, Kim Jong Koo, Park Venson and Moon Young Jgi who are on a tourist visa to India, allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of Nandish Reddy, a resident of Dhodanagundi by forcefully preaching him their Christian religious ideology

450-NSS-0013
January 29th
MOB STONES CROWD AT CATHOLIC SCHOOL OPENING
Police fail to offer protection despite advance warning from extremists.
A 50-strong Hindu mob attacked a new January 29Catholic school and boarding hostel as the facility was inaugurated on Sunday in Maharashtra state. The mob threw stones into the crowd, broke chairs and beat participants with sticks. Hindu extremists had asked the police three days before the opening ceremony not to allow the school to operate in Ghosali village. Despite this intimation of possible violence, police did not inform staff at the school and offered no protection for the event. The mob accused Catholic school staff of trying to convert their children by offering them education and chanted, “Leave! We don’t want Christians here!”

450-NSS-0014
India - Monday January 30, 2006 EXTREMISTS, POLICE BEAT CHRISTIANS IN MADHYA PRADESH- Bhopal
Bhopal January 28th attack
Pastor Iwin Pereira is the one has a broken Ulena(left hand) He is married to MS Sheela and they are blessed with a 16 months old Darlene
Brother Harbi Singh led Pastor Pereira to our Lord in 1985 and he had different Christian experiences before he has finally committed his life to Christ.

Pastor was married for over 17 years and he is aged about 42 years. Pastor tells that God has listened for his prayers for child after 15 long years.He strongly belies that his daughter is a specialgift from God as God acted where all medical doctors expressed their helplessness
Pastor Iwin is assisting in the Hallelujah Church and in the school of evangelism . The school of evangelism provides evangelical tools to seekers in a 9 month course and each batch consist of 75 students.
Pastor Iwin was attending the prayer meeting organized in Bhopal on 28th January as the meeting was in progress the Hindu radicals rushed into the hall and started attacking pastor Iwin with handles of shovels and broke his left arm while he was shielding himself and women present there . He had face the brunt and fury of the savage radicals one after another. He has ligament rupture and muscle tears in the calf muscle, hip and buttocks.He was given first aid in the JP hospital and finally plaster cast was done on 30th January. He was humiliated even after this brutal attack by policemen and mocked Christ. The blood stained cloth and his injuries all over his body talks volumes of the agony he underwent for witnessing the true and living God
Iwin is harbouring no anger against his perpetrators no fear or no sorrow
He also said that God gives grace when he allows these things to happen to you to bear it.

He said that God allows only what is bearable. His prophetic voice is that these types of attacks will increase as God’s people brake the castles of satan and liberate the bonded souls. He says that the body of Christ will be united through persecution and he is warning that no help can be expected from government but your help will come from almighty God our Saviour
In a personal note he said that he believe that through persecution he has be come more close; Six hospitalized, dozens beaten in four separate attacks. – Hindu extremists armed with sticks, rods and other sharp weapons gate-crashed a Christian seminar held in a private home in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday morning (January 28). Six Christians were rushed to a hospital with serious injuries following the assault, while at least 12 others, some of them children, suffered relatively minor injuries. The assault left Pastor Sam Francis, who had organized the seminar, with fractures in his hands and legs, while guest speaker Kishore Sadhwani suffered a broken hand and a head injury requiring eight stitches. The attack was the fourth incident in as many days in the state.

450-NSS-0015
Arrest
4th Feb Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Pastor Jojjin Samuel – 450-0040
Jojin is a 27 year old assistant Pastor with Pastor George Thomas and Pastor Jijo is a trainee in the City Prayer Centre in the city of Indore in the central state of madhya Pradesh. The city centre started about 14 years back and a new hall was built seven years ago. This is also known as the Gospel Church of God. The church is situated in Khaber Khedi Road,Sharada Colony, Shukila boardering Indore town. Jojin after prayers went and met some people in the Slums with bible tract and shared gospel on 4th of Februaryry and the Hindu radicals beaten and chased him out of the slum. The radicals were looking for his whereabouts. Pastor George Thomas had lodged a complaint to the police station and the police had accorded protection to the church . On 5th February Pastor Jojin and Pastor Jijo were preparing for the worship service and the radicals entered in the church and started beating up Jojin and JIjo with sticks and hand. The police disappeared from the security duty on the Saturday night. The Hindu radicals also destroyed some bibles and collected worship books and other scripture portions from the church. Both Pastor Jojin and Pastor jijo were also paraded in the street humiliating and thrashing them on the way. This lasted for over 40-45 minutes from 10am and the police appeared on the scene and arrested the pastors first and later few of the radicals.

450-NSS-0016 Pastors attacked
5th February 2006
Pastors Thrashed on Church Premises (Indore)Two Pastors of Kabitkhedi Church were beaten up inside their residence on the church premises by local youths who suspected them of being involved in distribution of inflammable material. The incident occurred at around 9 am today. According to Hira Nagar police, Dilip Rupalal, a resident of Raghunandan Bag had seen one of the pastor Jojin P distributing pamphlets encouraging conversion in the Pardeshipura area of the City on January 31.Dilip apparently saw John on the streets today and chased him. Dilip was soon joined by six other local youths who followed jojin inside the church where he had his residential quarters.

Dr. Sajan K. George
President- Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC)