Mob beats up Christian priest & members in Police station!
A Christian priest Harish Sahu and two others were beaten up by a group inside a police station in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on Sunday, after they were accused of forcing religious conversions by some members of a Hindutva organisation.
The event occurred at the Purani Basti police station when the priest, Harish Sahu, was summoned in response to reports of forced religious conversions. Members of the right-wing group had also shown up at the police station, asking that the accused be prosecuted.
After an altercation, he was escorted into the chamber of the officer in command of the police station, where tensions rose even higher, according to authorities. Sahu, a Christian leader, and two others (Ankush Bariyekar and one Prakash Masih) were reportedly beaten up by members of the Christian community.
The event occurred at the Purani Basti police station when the priest, Harish Sahu, was summoned in response to reports of forced religious conversions. Members of the right-wing group had also shown up at the police station, asking that the accused be prosecuted.
After an altercation, he was escorted into the chamber of the officer in command of the police station, where tensions rose even higher, according to authorities. Sahu, a Christian leader, and two others (Ankush Bariyekar and one Prakash Masih) were reportedly beaten up by members of the Christian community.
The priest was assaulted with shoes in videos of the event. The cops can be seen attempting to disperse the crowd and move them out of the room.
The attack has been reported to the police, who have filed charges against seven persons. According to a police officer, they have been charged under sections 147 (rioting), 294 (obscene actions and songs), 323 (voluntarily inflicting harm), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the indian Penal Code.
“During the fight between the two parties, no damage was done to the police station,” stated Tarakeswar Patel, Additional Superintendent of police (City). “We're looking into the conversion complaint right now. We will take action based on what we discover.”
The incident occurred just a week after a crowd of over 100 people reportedly assaulted another priest, Kawalsingh Paraste, 25, at his home in the state's Kabirdham area. The crowd had also accused Paraste of converting them to Christianity.