Indian pastor forgives arsonists who razed church in Tamil Nadu

Pastor Ramesh Jebaraj says he forgives the arsonists who destroyed his church in Tamil Nadu State, southern India, in the early hours of 13 June.

Arsonists reduced the Real Peace Gospel church in rural Vayalur to a burnt out shell

The partially-sighted pastor who runs the Real Peace Gospel church in rural Vayalur said, “We don’t suspect anyone in particular. People of all faiths come here to pray. Someone may have done it out of jealousy, but we forgive them.”

Police are investigating the blaze that destroyed the thatched roof of the church, built ten years ago, and reduced the building to a burnt out shell. The charred remains of a drum, microphones and a table could be seen in the ruins.

No services had been held in the church since the nationwide coronavirus lockdown began in March. Pastor Ramesh said, “There is no possibility of any electrical short circuit. We use only rechargeable batteries during service and take them back.” The building was not connected to a mains power supply.

Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Christians of India (GCCI), believes the fire was an arson attack, adding that extremists have continued to sow fear among Christians in Hindu-majority India, despite the lockdown. “We are alarmed by this attack while the government is grappling with the pandemic crisis,” he said.

“India is a secular democracy, and Christians are no threat to anyone. We represent only 2.3 per cent of the population, and declining. Despite this, radical groups continue to attack and intimidate Christians, burning their churches,” the Christian leader added.

In May, the Alliance Defending Freedom India Trust (ADF) reported that at least three Christian families in India’s Chhattisgarh State had been prevented from burying their loved ones by religious extremists as persecution and mob violence against believers continued during the Covid-19 lockdown.

ADF lawyers said they had also received reports of six incidents of targeted violence against Christians in Chhattisgarh State and three incidents of anti-Christian violence in Jharkhand State in April. In neighbouring Odisha (formerly Orissa) State, a 14-year-old Christian boy was tortured and murdered by local extremists in his village, in Malkangiri district, in June.

The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) said the number of recorded incidents of violence and hate crime against Christians rose in 2019 to 366 incidents, compared to 325 in the previous year. EFI’s annual report, published in March, revealed Tamil Nadu State had the second highest number of anti-Christian incidents in 2019, with 60 attacks, behind Uttar Pradesh State, which recorded 86 attacks.

From Barnabas Fund contacts and other source

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Church in India Set on Fire by Suspected Radical Hindu Nationalist

(International Christian Concern) – On June 12, 2020, an independent church in the state of Tamil Nadu, southern India, was set on fire on Friday night by unknown aggressors. The fire brought down the entire roof, affected the building structure, furniture, speaker boxes, and amplifier, causing damages estimated around US $2,700. While the reason for the attack is not yet apparent, members of the church suspect radical Hindu nationalists, who have been egregious in that region in the last few years.

According to local sources, on the morning of June 13, Pastor Ramesh saw the flames and thick smoke coming out of the church. By that time, the roof, made of coconut leaves and bamboos, was completely burnt.

“I was shocked for a moment looking at the church engulfed with flames and smoke. I was broken, and it was so painful, there was absolutely no way to save anything from inside the church. The church structure, instruments, and furniture inside the church are ten years of hard labor,” Pastor Ramesh told ICC.

Pastor Ramesh leads 100 members of the ‘Real Peace Church’ in Vaylur, Changalpattu district, for the last ten years. He explained this incident is part of persecution against Christians and their work in the district, as he also has been threatened to stop Christian practice in the region.

“After I recovered from the shock,” Ramesh said, “I filed a formal complaint with the police, and the police promised that they carry on the investigation.”

In 2017, in the same district, a pastor was murdered only 5 miles from where Pastor Ramesh leads the Real Peach Church in Vaylur. “This place has been a difficult place for Christians,” Ramesh said, “and their numerous instances where the Christians have been facing increased intimidations”.

The state of Tamil Nadu is known for its sizable Christian population yet ranked two in the national tally of the most hostile state for Christians to live. The church fire in Vaylur proves the reality of discrimination and assaults against Christians based on religion.

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Christian prayer homes attacked in Madurai

Madurai: Radical Hindu activists alleged attacked prayer homes of Pentecostal Christians at two places in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Police quoted Pastor Ravi Jacob, who lodged a complaint, that Hindu Munnani (front) activists on March 11 burnt some pamphlets and copies of the Bible and abused pastors and the faithful at Koodal Nagar and Sikandar Chavadi areas.

Jacob alleged that 10 people came to his house that day, took away copies of the Bible and damaged them.

A clip of the group reportedly threatening the people has gone viral.

A case was registered two days later against 10 Hindu activists, including three who were identified.

The Police said some activists, during initial questioning, denied that they had attacked the homes and had only staged protests against people being allegedly lured for conversion.

The activists said the complaint was a ploy so that some organizations could continue their “illegal conversions.”

Police said they had received complaints from the public that some prayer homes were being running illegally, demanding that these be closed.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Latin Bishops’ Council had condemned the attacks and said it was an effort to “chase away” Christians who had a fundamental right to worship.

This was not a law and order problem, but denial of right to worship and destruction of secularism, the Constitution and democracy, Council president Bishop Anthony Pappusamy said in a statement.

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Indian policeman joins 50-strong Hindu mob’s attack on churches

A Hindu mob raided five churches in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu yesterday (11 March), attacking and abusing Christians as they worshipped. Several women were stripped and beaten.

The attackers, who according to witnesses were accompanied by a state-provided police officer, were part of Hindu Munnani, a Tamil Nadu-based organisation formed to defend Hinduism.

Still from video of Venkatesh, shouting abuse at Pastor Jagatheesan

The Hindu Munnani District Secretary, Thangam Venkatesh, led the mob, which began its raids early in the morning.

“At about 9am, Venkatesh went to the prayer hall and abused the pastor, Ravi Jacob. He used extremely vulgar language, and then turned on his wife, Persis,” John J.Y. Arul, Chairman of Madurai District Pastors’ Fellowship, told World Watch Monitor.

“The extremists were aggressive and uncontrollable. In front of children and others in the church, they savagely beat up Jacob and Persis. They removed Persis’ saree and repeatedly kicked her in the face,” Arul said.

“I can’t repeat the words they used against Persis. We were shocked by their inhuman behaviour.

“When Persis was crying for help, the police guard with the Munnani leader asked her to ‘prostrate herself at the feet of Thangam Venkatesh and plead for his forgiveness’.

“Persis’ face was swollen and she had to be rushed to hospital.”

The mob also burnt Christian literature, including Bibles.

“The same Hindu Munnani men went to four other churches in the district,” Arul said.

At about 10am the mob went to the Bethesda Worship Centre, where they stripped and attacked three women. Two of the women, Maariyammal, 40, and Annal, 51, were sexually assaulted. A third, Bava Dhaarani, 23, was slapped and punched. Maariyammal tried to lodge a complaint with the police, but she was told police could “only take one complaint per church” and the church pastor had already made a complaint.

The mob told Bethseda’s pastor, Jerome Jagatheesan, “you will be brutally murdered in five days”.

“Their language was filthy,” Jagatheesan told World Watch Monitor. “They called me a woman, saying if I was a man I would not serve Christ. They bullied me, calling me pottai, pottai. It is an offensive word in the Tamil language, used against transgender people and homosexuals.”

Activists in the mob said to Jagatheesan: “If you are a man, why did you convert? Why did you change your god? You are a homosexual who gives his wife to adultery.”

Jagatheesan said: “Their words were brutish. Had I uttered a single word they would have attacked us the same way sister Persis was attacked. They showed no mercy.”

The activists also said to Jagatheesan: “If you want to serve Jesus Christ, go to Bethlehem or the Vatican. Worship him there. Why do you want to make India impure?”

At the church the mob shouted threats to a 19-year-old named James, whose father, Emmanuel, leads another church. The activists called out: “If we continue gathering for Sunday worship and prayers, it will be my dad’s turn next,” James said.

“[Hindu nationalists] are ruling in the centre, it is their government. We Christians are helpless,” he added.

Another pastor, Sagi Sugathia, said the mob “are at least 25 in number and very violent. Our church services had to be stopped because of Thangam Venkatesh and his men”.

Complaints to the police

Later in the day complaints were made at Koodal Pudur and Alanganallur police stations, but police refused to register the case. Koodal Pudur police issued a Community Service Register (CSR) receipt in which they did not reveal the identity of Thangam Venkatesh and the Hindu Munnani workers.

The CSR receipt, filed on the complaint made by Jerome Jagatheesan, said: “Twenty-five unknown miscreants or unidentified people have attacked the Christians.”

Some 200 pastors later demanded that a First Information Report (a victim or witness statement made to police to trigger further investigation) was filed against the Hindu Munnani activists.

A Facebook account in the name of Thangam Venkatesh posted updates on yesterday’s attacks, including a video of Venkatesh shouting abuse at Jagatheesan.

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Police asked not to interfere in the civil rights of a pastor in Tamil Nadu

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday directed the Tirunelveli police not to interfere with the civil rights of a pastor who moved the court seeking to restrain the police from questioning members of a church in the name of enquiry.

Justice P. Rajamanickam directed that civil rights should not be interfered with and no questioning be conducted in the name of enquiry.

The petitioner, Soundarapandian, a pastor at the Church of South India (CSI) church in Athisiyapuram, Palayamkottai, said a prayer hall was constructed in 2017 with permission from the Executive Officer of the panchayat. Prayers were held on Fridays and Sundays without causing any hindrance to the public, he said.

However, a few villagers had complained to the V. K. Pudur police that prayers were being held without permission. Following the complaint, the police had been visiting the church in the name of enquiry and questioning its members, he complained.

The petitioner said his freedom of conscience, free profession, practice and propagation of religion guaranteed under the Constitution were affected and sought to restrain the police from conducting such enquiries at the prayer hall.

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Indian policeman joins 50-strong Hindu mob’s attack on churches

A Hindu mob raided five churches in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu yesterday (11 March), attacking and abusing Christians as they worshipped. Several women were stripped and beaten.

The attackers, who according to witnesses were accompanied by a state-provided police officer, were part of Hindu Munnani, a Tamil Nadu-based organisation formed to defend Hinduism.

The Hindu Munnani District Secretary, Thangam Venkatesh, led the mob, which began its raids early in the morning.

“At about 9am, Venkatesh went to the prayer hall and abused the pastor, Ravi Jacob. He used extremely vulgar language, and then turned on his wife, Persis,” John J.Y. Arul, Chairman of Madurai District Pastors’ Fellowship, told World Watch Monitor.

“The extremists were aggressive and uncontrollable. In front of children and others in the church, they savagely beat up Jacob and Persis. They removed Persis’ saree and repeatedly kicked her in the face,” Arul said.

“I can’t repeat the words they used against Persis. We were shocked by their inhuman behaviour.

“When Persis was crying for help, the police guard with the Munnani leader asked her to ‘prostrate herself at the feet of Thangam Venkatesh and plead for his forgiveness’.

“Persis’ face was swollen and she had to be rushed to hospital.”

The mob also burnt Christian literature, including Bibles.

“The same Hindu Munnani men went to four other churches in the district,” Arul said.

At about 10am the mob went to the Bethesda Worship Centre, where they stripped and attacked three women. Two of the women, Maariyammal, 40, and Annal, 51, were sexually assaulted. A third, Bava Dhaarani, 23, was slapped and punched. Maariyammal tried to lodge a complaint with the police, but she was told police could “only take one complaint per church” and the church pastor had already made a complaint.

The mob told Bethseda’s pastor, Jerome Jagatheesan, “you will be brutally murdered in five days”.

“Their language was filthy,” Jagatheesan told World Watch Monitor. “They called me a woman, saying if I was a man I would not serve Christ. They bullied me, calling me pottai, pottai. It is an offensive word in the Tamil language, used against transgender people and homosexuals.”

Activists in the mob said to Jagatheesan: “If you are a man, why did you convert? Why did you change your god? You are a homosexual who gives his wife to adultery.”

Jagatheesan said: “Their words were brutish. Had I uttered a single word they would have attacked us the same way sister Persis was attacked. They showed no mercy.”

The activists also said to Jagatheesan: “If you want to serve Jesus Christ, go to Bethlehem or the Vatican. Worship him there. Why do you want to make India impure?”

At the church the mob shouted threats to a 19-year-old named James, whose father, Emmanuel, leads another church. The activists called out: “If we continue gathering for Sunday worship and prayers, it will be my dad’s turn next,” James said.

“[Hindu nationalists] are ruling in the centre, it is their government. We Christians are helpless,” he added.

Another pastor, Sagi Sugathia, said the mob “are at least 25 in number and very violent. Our church services had to be stopped because of Thangam Venkatesh and his men”.

Complaints to the police

Later in the day complaints were made at Koodal Pudur and Alanganallur police stations, but police refused to register the case. Koodal Pudur police issued a Community Service Register (CSR) receipt in which they did not reveal the identity of Thangam Venkatesh and the Hindu Munnani workers.

The CSR receipt, filed on the complaint made by Jerome Jagatheesan, said: “Twenty-five unknown miscreants or unidentified people have attacked the Christians.”

Some 200 pastors later demanded that a First Information Report (a victim or witness statement made to police to trigger further investigation) was filed against the Hindu Munnani activists.

A Facebook account in the name of Thangam Venkatesh posted updates on yesterday’s attacks, including a video of Venkatesh shouting abuse at Jagatheesan.

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5 Hindu Outfit Members Held for Vandalising Church in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Following an act of vandalism perpetrated by members of some Hindu  outfits at a church in Kalapatti, the Kovilapalayam police arrested five persons on Sunday night.

Of the arrested persons, P Sampath (43) is the formal zonal secretary of the BJP. The other four were identified as R Kutty (34), S Sakthivel (29), N Vignesh (25) and K Devaraj (60). The four men are said to belong to a fringe Hindu outfit.

Based on a complaint by the person in charge of the church, a case was registered under Sections 295 (A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) and 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act.

The Hindu outfit members were against the church functioning as a temple was also located nearby.

The church has been in existence since 1948 and was recently renovated and expanded, though the Hindu outfit men approached  the court seeking a stay order. The High Court had given green light for the church renovation and had directed the district police to give adequate protection. 

The church was dedicated on Wednesday.

On Saturday, a group of Hindu outfit activists vandalised the property.

On Sunday, more than 1,000 people from seven churches, led by the Presbyter and Chairman of the CSI Christ Church, petitioned the Collector, seeking protection of the church and the congregation.

CSI Christ Church’s honorary secretary P Dharmaraj, told Express that they sought the Collector’s help to implement the High Court order. He said around 20 families congregated at the church every week and they feared for their safety.

Police said that they were on the lookout for the culprits who had vandalised the church property and were also searching for some serial offenders, who would be booked under Section 107 of the Code for Criminal Procedure, whereby the anti-social elements would be made to sign a bond stating that they would not indulge in any illegal act.

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Man arrested for 'attacking' churches in Bangalore, TN

Bangalore: A man having suspected links with a fundamentalist organisation has been arrested for his alleged role in vandalising and attacking churches in the city and Tamil Nadu between 2008 and 2009.
"A special investigating team on September 3 arrested 33-year-old Sajjan Kumar, a resident of Tamil Nadu, for his involvement in church attacks here," City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar told reporters here.
Police suspect Kumar owes allegiance to a fundamentalist organisation. "We are investigating it," he added.
Kumar is alleged to have attacked and damaged four churches situated at Yedavanahalli and Huskurgate in city limits, Auradkar said.
Tamil Nadu Police have also filed a case against Kumar for allegedly setting on fire a scooter parked near a hotel where a Christian prayer was held.

"A case was registered in Mathigiri police station limits in Tamil Nadu," he added.
PTI

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Church attacked in Chennai, security up

Miscreants attacked the CSI Immanuel Church in Chennai’s Anna Nagar, Thirumangalam area, late on Thursday night forcing the state police to beef up security for key churches in the city.

That attacks have a pattern, this was proved when a glass case, containing the Bible, in the front portion of the church was found shattered. Rev. Fr. Wellington Jesudas said they were shocked to notice the desecration. A name board with a Biblical saying inscribed on it has been damaged.

This is the seventh such attack in Tamil Nadu in the past four weeks. The incident comes close on the heels of the attack on St. Francis Assisi church in Coimbatore on Wednesday.

A few tombstones in a cemetery near Villupuram, 150 km from Chennai, had also been vandalized.

Additional Director General of Police (law and order) T. Rajendran said those responsible for the attacks would be arrested under the Goondas Act.

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Another church attacked in Chennai

There has been another report of a church being attacked on Friday. It's the seventh such incident in Tamil Nadu.
Unidentified persons threw stones at a glass case enclosing a Bible at a church in central Chennai.
Earlier incidents were reported in places like Kanniyakumari, Coimbatore, and Madurai. State police are providing extra security to churches in Chennai.

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Jesus statue, cemetery vandalized in TN

VILLUPURAM/COIMBATORE: Miscreants vandalized a cemetery in Villupuram, about 160 km from Chennai, and a statue of infant Jesus was damaged in Coimbatore in the ongoing episodes of desecration of churches in Tamil Nadu.
In Villupuram, police said 20 holy crosses in the cemetery of St Paul’s church near Katpadi on the Villupuram-Chennai highway were damaged on Wednesday. A family which visited the cemetery to offer prayers saw the damaged tomb stones and informed authorities.
The church authorities lodged a complaint with the Villupuram West police who registered a case of promoting enmity between groups, disturbing communal harmony and trespassing.
Police arrested two people — V Kannan (33) of Muthope and R Durai of Sitheri — and remanded them in judicial custody on Thursday. Tension prevailed in the region for a brief period when representatives of some political parties staged an agitation demanding action against the miscreants responsible for the desecration.
Though at least eight incidents of stone pelting on churches have been reported in the state so far, it was the first time that a church in Coimbatore city has come under attack.
In the pre-dawn hours, a glass case in which an infant Jesus statue was kept was broken at the St Francis of Assisi Church at Athipa-layam Pirivu at Ganapathy. The statue was also damaged. Parish priest C S Madalaimuthu said the desecration was noticed around 5am by people who came for the morning mass prayers.

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