With the surge in the atrocities against minorities, another incident has surfaced, where a Christian pastor was assaulted, paraded with a garland of shoes, and forced to eat cow dung on allegations of religious conversion in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district.
The pastor, identified as Bipin Bihari Naik, and other people were in a prayer meeting when it was punctuated by a mob of 15-20 people, and they allegedly asked Naik to come outside the house. The order was refused by him in the context of his prayer meeting.
The incident, which took place two weeks ago under the jurisdiction of the Parjang police station, surfaced only after sustained insistence by the victim’s wife compelled the police to register a case.
The details of the incident reveal that Naik was dragged and severely beaten on every part of his body, and repeated blows were thrown at him with sindhoor smeared all over his face. The mob made him wear a garland of slippers.
Four accused have been detained so far. “Based on the complaint lodged by Pastor Bipin Naik’s wife, we have detained four people after examining several individuals. A case has been registered at Parjang Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” Dhenkanal Superintendent Abhinav Sonkar told PTI.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma called it a “grave violation of the constitutional rights.”
“We unequivocally condemn these acts of violence against minorities, the inhuman treatment inflicted in full public view, and the space granted to fringe elements to hurt, humiliate, and terrorize with impunity,” Congress national spokesperson from MP, Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, said in a post on X.
“India’s democracy cannot be sustained through fear, humiliation, or majoritarian dominance,” he added.
