A Catholic priest was beaten, arrested and then released in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). Police later indicted him for rioting and illegal assembly. Father Vineet Vincent Pereira runs Ishwar Dham, a site where prayers are recited for ten hours every day. He was attacked on 14 November. “At 5 pm, two people came to cause tensions,” he said in recalling the incident. “Rapidly, they were joined by others and started to beat up one of the people present. When I went to rescue him, they began hitting me on the head and on the arm, and pulled my hair.”
As reported by asianews.it, Father Vineet Vincent Pereira said, “When police arrived, they “took me to the station for ‘my safety’. I was locked up and released the next day.” The man who attacked the priest is called Raj Kumar. The incident itself lasted about ten minutes. “Along with me, there were nine people. I was the only priest present at the place,” he explained, adding that “I received several threats in the past “.
The Indian Missionary Society of Varanasi met to express the solidarity of the whole local community to the priest.
Source: www.asianews.it
