Chhattisgarh: Two Christians were humiliated and tortured for their faith in a village in Chhattisgarh state, India, on Wednesday 20 April, according a to a bulletin put out by Barnabas Fund, an NGO . The older of the two, Jai Singh, was allegedly burnt with a fire-heated coin on his tongue, and several other parts of his body, as punishment for refusing to ‘return’ to Hinduism. Initially they were questioned as to why they had not renounced their Christian faith but slowly the conversation turned into abuse and death threats. They were told that if they are found worshipping Christ, they would be cut into small pieces.

The report, made a month  after the gruesome act, says  Jai Singh’s wounds have not healed.

The incident took place in the village of Paremapara, when Somaru Ram Baghel, Singh’s son-in-law, was stopped on his way to a flour mill by a Hindu extremist called Paadarba. Paadarba questioned Baghel as to why he had not left the village. Baghel was then made to wait whilst Paadarba summoned the elders of the village and the Head of the Village Council.

In the meantime, Jai Singh, 58, Baghel’s father-in-law, happened to pass that way while on his way to Sukma to buy vegetables for his family. He was forced to join Baghel.

“The questioning that started peacefully soon turned ugly when my father-in-law refused to budge from his faith,” said Somaru Ram Baghel to Barnabas Fund. “I will chase you away from this village and demolish your house. Leave our village and go and stay somewhere else,” threatened Paadarba in the presence of the Council. Singh apparently explained to the Council that since they had both been born and brought up in the village there was no reason to leave. In response, Paadarba said that he would cut them both into pieces if they did not flee the village.

The Head of the Village Council then summoned a man addressed as Mahita from Ankurpara (a nearby place in the village). Under the Government Scheme, Indira Awaas Yojana (a social welfare flagship programme, created by the Indian Government to provide housing for the rural poor in India), Mahita had to hand over 10,000 Rupees to Jai Singh for his house construction. The Head of the Village Council instructed Mahita to hand over the money to Singh, from which he took away 5,000 Rupees in order to “teach the Christian a lesson”.

Baghel was then asked to give 51 Rupees to the Council. “I did and the same One Rupee Coin that I gave to the council, was used to burn Jai Singh”, Baghel sobbed. In the presence of the Village Council, a bamboo stick was fetched and split open at one end. This was so the coin could be fixed to its tip and held into the fire to heat it. The fire-heated coin was then placed on Jai Singh’s tongue. This process was repeated several times and he suffered burns to his back, shoulders, knees and feet.

After burning Singh, they took mustard oil, mixed turmeric power into it and rubbed it all over Singh’s body, to cause him more pain.

Baghel said the money (5,051 Rupees) was distributed among the attackers, who used it to buy and then consume alcohol.

“This absolutely inhumane cruelty to a human being should shock the nation. It is a reflection of the feudal power structures at the grassroots, bolstered by caste and political muscle power, and religious bigotry. But more dangerous is the evidence of impunity in the state administrative and police structures. While this permeates most states of India, Chhattisgarh is amongst the most notorious”, said Dr John Dayal, spokesperson of the United Christian Forum, to Barnabas Fund.

He adds, “This is a case fit for the state High Court to take notice, chastise the state government and bring the culprits to book. The law must be used and be seen being used.”

[Editor’s note: the press note is not clear as to whether a criminal case against the perpetrators of this act has been registered. Newsnet One was not able to independently verify all aspects of this report ]

  Chhatisgarh, Christian, Church, persecution