India: Christian Group Seeks Meeting with Top Hindu Organization After Attack on Families in West Bengal

A Christian organization in West Bengal has requested a meeting with the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization, following allegations that three Christian families were assaulted and forced to participate in Hindu religious rituals in the eastern Indian state.

Herod Mullick, founding state secretary of the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba, told Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) that the alleged incident in Patlapur village, Paschim Medinipur district, reflects a wider pattern of reported attacks on Christians in West Bengal.

“Words cannot express our condemnation of the brutal incident in Chandrakona, Paschim Medinipur,” Mullick said, referring to the area under Chandrakona police station where the alleged incident occurred.

He claimed similar incidents had been reported in several districts since June.

“The pattern of all these events suggests they are not merely happening, but are being orchestrated according to a specific script,” he said.

Mullick accused the state government of failing to adequately investigate the reported incidents and hold accountable those allegedly involved in public attacks and vandalism.

He said the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba had formally requested a meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, seeking an opportunity to discuss the situation and obtain his guidance.

“Feeling helpless and desperate, we are seeking the shelter and guidance of our respected Sangh Chief, Mohan Bhagwat. We have submitted a formal request for a meeting and discussion with him,” Mullick told RVA.

The allegations have also drawn the attention of Indian opposition lawmaker K.C. Venugopal, who urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a letter dated October 24 to ensure the immediate arrest of those accused.

Venugopal, chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, said the three families were allegedly assaulted, threatened and coerced into renouncing Christianity between October 18 and 20, during the Durga Puja festivities.

According to his letter, the families were taken to a Durga Puja pandal in neighboring Dingal village on October 19 and allegedly forced to offer anjali, or prayers and offerings to the deity, and undergo a purported purification ritual.

He also cited allegations that a woman was struck on the head and lost consciousness and that a 15-year-old girl was threatened with abduction and sexual violence.

Police registered a case on October 20 naming 13 people, following intervention by an advocate, according to Venugopal’s account. The allegations have raised renewed concerns about religious freedom and the protection of Christian minorities in West Bengal.