Masked men attack Christian prayer meet

BHOPAL - A group of masked men attacked a Christian prayer meet in remote Sarni area of Betul district in Madhya Pradesh, police said Sunday. Locals claimed that a man died in the resulting melee after he jumped into a well in panic.

According to eyewitnesses, the man died due to the ruckus Saturday night created by the miscreants, allegedly belonging to “rightist organisations”.

“The incident took place around 8.30 p.m. at Saliya village where around eight to nine masked men forced their way into the Christian prayer meeting, attacked the organisers, damaged their vehicles and fled,” Sub-Divisional officer (Police) Abhishek Rajan said.

“Later, the police found a body floating in a well, located 400 meters from the prayer venue. According to the locals, the man was attending the meeting and jumped into the well in panic when the miscreants attacked,” he said.

“The police are yet to ascertain whether his death was related to the attack as his body was found floating within two hours of the commotion while medical experts say that it takes at least 12 hours for a body of a drowned person to surface,” Rajan said.

Several attacks on Christian meets have been witnessed in the past in tribal-dominated Balaghat district also with the latest one on April 15 when some miscreants, allegedly belonging to rightwing Hindu groups, stormed a function organised by a Protestant group and attended by over 5,000 people.

Father Lijo Antony, assistant parish priest of the lone Catholic church in the area, said: “Hindu groups tried to forcibly enter the venue alleging the programme was aimed at converting gullible tribal people.”

The police imposed prohibitory orders in the area after the incident. The administration also gave protection to 23 Protestant pastors working in the area, the priest said.

Although the district is in Madhya Pradesh, it comes under Nagpur archdiocese in Maharashtra.