On Sunday 2 December, the day the Church celebrated the first Sunday of Advent, in Uttar Pradesh about 150 Hindu fanatics attacked a church and interrupted the prayer with the complicity of the local police. Then they launched an ultimatum to the faithful: either they close the place of Christian worship, or “they will suffer severe consequences”.
Shibu Thomas, founder of the Persecution Relief network that defends discriminated Christians in India, denounces to AsiaNews: “The police, which should be ‘guardian of the law’, does not perform its duties and takes a position influenced by prejudices and bigotry against the Christian minority”. The attached church is located in Naubasta, in the district of Kanpur. The activist says that the radicals arrived waving orange flags (the color of Hindu nationalists), singing praises to the god Ram and shouting slogans against Christians. “They sowed fear and terror in the community,” he adds.
The Christian group claims that “in Uttar Pradesh dozens of churches are forcibly closed with the help of the police and the administration”. According to Shibu Thomas, “on many occasions the agents accompany the fanatics and reporters, when they target a church and decide to close it. In the districts of Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Kanpur and others, more than 20 churches were forced to close. The policemen patrol the surroundings, stand guard at the entrance and prevent the faithful from gathering together to worship Christ “.
Source: www.asianews.it
