Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal condemned the brutal assault on a pastor in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district.
The attack occurred on January 4 in Parjang. Venugopal demanded immediate arrests of all perpetrators.
In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, he described the incident.
Venugopal alleged that around 40 people, reportedly Bajrang Dal activists, surrounded the pastor’s house. He and seven Christian families were conducting Sunday prayers.
Aggressors detained the pastor and his family and subjected them to beating. Attackers smeared his face with sindoor, placed a garland of sandals around his neck, and paraded him publicly.
Attackers tie the pastor at the temple, force him to eat cow dung and drink sewer water.
Venugopal called the assault a ‘humiliating public lynching’ and an act of forced religious coercion.
Seven Christian families fled their homes in fear after the incident.
He criticised the Odisha government for inaction, despite the gravity of the crime and the mob size.
Venugopal warned that authorities must not tolerate attackers targeting minorities with mob justice over unverified ‘forced conversion’ claims.
The Congress leader also highlighted similar attacks against religious minorities in Odisha in recent times.
He stressed that the state must uphold the rule of law and protect all citizens, regardless of faith.
Venugopal urged immediate legal action against the attackers. He demanded a strict, time-bound investigation into this attack and other similar incidents.
K C Venugopal urged protection and rehabilitation for Pastor Bipin Bihari Naik, his family, and seven displaced Christian families.
He said repeated silence by the authorities emboldens perpetrators to act with impunity.
Venugopal strongly condemned the violence and inaction, stressing that such acts have no place in a civilised society.
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