05/30/2020 India (International Christian Concern) – According to Morning Star News, 16 Christian families in India’s Jharkhand state faced death threats from mobs of Sarna extremists every night for nearly three weeks. In the end, these extremists forcefully converted two of the Christian families to the Sarna tribal religion.
Over the course of the three weeks, Sarna extremists went to the homes of 16 Christian families in Banjari Patan village every night armed with clubs. The mob would then threaten to kill or ostracize the Christian families if they refused to convert to the Sarna religion.
“They went to the extent of saying, ‘If these Christians do not accede, leave Christianity and return to our Sarna fold, we will kill them and consequently go to jail for it. We do not mind.’,” Pastor Sarabjit Bharati, head pastor of Kirpa Bhavan Salom Church, told Morning Star News.
Terrorized, two Christian families converted to Sarna religion. The mob made them sign papers stating they would have to pay a fine of 20,000 rupees ($265.00) if they were found attending any Christian meetings or ever believed in Jesus Christ again.
In late April, police were called in to assist the Christians. However, this assistance only arrived after the beleaguered Christians received help from an outside Christian ministry in India.
The police told the Sarna extremists that villagers were free to follow the religion of their choice. However, as soon as the police left, the mobs continued to threaten the Christians.
A second complaint from the 14 remaining Christian families was then filed with the Patan police station. The police again visited the village and warned the extremists of the severe consequences they would receive if they dared to harass the Christian families again.
For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org.
