03/17/2021 India (International Christian Concern) – A Christian family experienced brutal beatings and expulsion from their home for refusing to participate in religious customs and deity worship to Hindu gods.
According to Morning Star News, the village figured out the family converted to Christianity when Devi and Sunil Oraon stepped away from idol worship and customs. Devi faced death threats from Sunil’s parents.
Devi described her father-in-law’s hatred after she asked him not to sprinkle blood throughout her house. “My father-in-law had been adamant that we must also partake in the rituals he performs. When I refused his demands, he charged at me with bamboo sticks and beat me up very badly. I was crying, screaming in pain, and pleaded with my mother-in-law to stop him, but she too was supporting her husband.” He threatened to behead her on the ground of defiling his son, Sunil, and their children with the Christian faith.
On February 9, after they beat Devi, she and her children were expelled to the woods and no money to provide food. The next day, a police officer came to the village, warning her that if she did not obey the village elders and respect their religious customs, he would file criminal charges against her. Devi told the officer her family threatened her life. Under no circumstances would she or her family abandon their faith.
Devi and her family live in the woods outside of the village, with no sustainable source of income. Every day they walk two miles to get water. The village continues to threaten and attack them, the most recent incident on March 13, 2021. Devi’s in-laws and neighbors accused her of stealing grain, resulting in a brutal beating. Her legal case is ongoing.
For interviews, please contact Alison Garcia: press@persecution.org.
