Pratapgarh: Five Christians have been under police custody in Rajasthan for their alleged vandalisation of an idol of a temple nearby.
A Pastor belonging to Good Shepherd Community Church (GSCC), who has been running a worship group at Hamirpura village under Talamgarh Police Station in Arnod taluka of Pratapgarh district, Rajasthan, has been facing resistance from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), led by the local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sarpanch. The Hindu radicals wanted the Pastor to stop all his activities at the village.
It so happened that an idol of a nearby temple was found broken recently. Taking advantage of the situation, the activists filed an FIR at the police station alleging that the Pastor and his believers had damaged the idol. Since the police were aware of the truth, they refused to act. However when the radicals threatened to take law into their hands, the police kept the five Christians at the police station as a precautionary measure.
On 21 July 2008 morning, local Christian leaders arrived at the police station and held talks with the police. The police officers said they were convinced of the innocence of the Christians and promised to release them the same day.
GCIC
