A pastor from Odisha’s Dhenkanal was hit, forced to eat cow dung, and made to chant Jai Shri Ram by members of the Bajrang Dal.
The incident, reported by Maktoob Media, took place on January 4 when the pastor, along with his family and a few others, was attending a prayer meeting at a house in Parjang village.
A mob of around 40 people gathered outside and forcibly entered the house of Pastor Bipin Bihari Naik.
“They started beating everyone inside the house. Besides us, there were seven families who were praying with us. My children and I managed to run out of the house and rushed through a narrow alley towards the nearest police station,” said Vandana, Naik’s wife.
Naik, narrating the incident, said he was beaten with sticks by the crowd and red sindoor was smeared all over his face. He was also forced to wear a garland of slippers and paraded throughout the village.
Vandana said that despite repeated requests, the police refused to come immediately and help her husband.
“My husband was tied to a Hanuman temple in the village. Both his hands were tied behind a rod. He was forced to consume cow dung and was bleeding badly. People were slapping him and forcing him to chant Jai Shri Ram,” she said.
Despite police intervention, the mob did not immediately stop. Naik was eventually rescued and taken to the police station, the report said.
A social activist told Maktoob that Naik was made to sit at the police station for nearly an hour without any medical assistance.
Parjang village is a Hindu-majority village with only seven Christian families. The mob alleged that Naik was conducting forced religious conversions. Although the police registered a complaint regarding the incident, a counter FIR was also filed against him, accusing him of forced conversion.