Update at 6pm on Church Demolition and Attack in Orissa
Global Council of Indian Christians
4/4/07 India (Persecution Update India) Mr. Basanta Kumar Nanda, Advocate by Profession and the local RSS leader, along with a group of 300 rabid talibanized radicals have completely demolished a Church Building along with the Pastor’s Quarter in a village in Orissa. The angry mob was trying to kill the Pastor, Shri Levi Chetty. In order to save his life, he had to run to another place and is presently staying in Jeypore.
In this Village, the majority Hindu families number around 300 while the Christian Minority families number only 25. The JLC Church is one of the oldest churches which has stood the test of time and witnessed repeated persecutions earlier. Even the Hindu radicals used to desecrate the church by defecating and urinating in the Church building just before the worship time to deprive the believers from worshiping God.
When the radicals continued the profanity, the Church members started constructing a Boundary wall around their Church Building . The Boundary Wall was first demolished by the Hindu radicals and the Church burnt, there cases are under the consideration of the court sub judice.
(i) Radicals raised slogans while demolishing the church as follows:
“NO CHRISTIAN SHOULD STAY IN THEIR VILLAGE, LET THEM LEAVE ONCE THEY HAVE BECOME CHRISTIANS. THEY WILL NOT ALLOW ANY CHRISTIAN WORSHIP CENTER .
(ii) Their second demand is to release immediately the 9 accused criminals who have been arrested by the Police for the attack on the church. The agitated radicals are trying to release the culprits from the Nandpur Police Station.
The Christians living in the village fear that there may be further attacks on them. The lives of the 25 Christian believer families residing in GUNTHAPUT village are in danger.
GCIC of course has approached the collector and police heads to plead for their safety. It is an irony and a surprise that even in the face of clamping 145 and accordingly police guard were there, the radicals could demolish the Church building completely.
Please continue to pray for the safety and peace of the simple villagers
