A burial at a church in Sahanagar town in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district was disrupted on Aug. 14 after a group allegedly linked to Hindu nationalist organisations confronted mourners, The Indian Express reported on Saturday.
Father Samuel Hembrom, parish priest-in-charge at St Claret Church, told the newspaper that the group demanded documents relating to the burial ground and prevented the ceremony from proceeding. The body, which had already been placed in the grave, was removed and later taken to another cemetery in Bardhaman town, he said.
Hembrom said the group asked to see the “papers for the burial ground”. Church officials sought time to obtain the documents, but the protesters refused to allow the burial to continue, he said.
The priest said he emailed complaints to the superintendent of police and the block development officer but received no response.
Purba Bardhaman Superintendent of Police Pushpa said the woman who died was not from the locality, leading residents to object to her burial there. Residents also claimed the land was privately owned rather than a cemetery, she said, adding that authorities were examining the land records.
Pushpa rejected reports that mourners had been assaulted, saying police had intervened primarily to contain a law-and-order situation.
### Other incidents reported
The incident comes amid a series of reported disruptions of Christian prayer meetings in West Bengal.
On Aug. 26, a prayer gathering at a house in Check Milepost village in Purba Medinipur district was disrupted and Pastor Joy Sutradhar and his wife were allegedly assaulted. The group accused Sutradhar of carrying out forced conversions, The Indian Express reported.
Sutradhar said community members later sought legal assistance and were released after lawyers intervened at the police station. He said a complaint was subsequently submitted by email.
On Aug. 25, members of a prayer meeting at a house in Ghusuri, Howrah, were allegedly beaten, with some sustaining injuries. Father Suraj Saroj of Church of the Grace said police kept the group at the station for several hours and questioned them about the church, its finances and credentials. No complaint was filed, and the church subsequently suspended house prayers and visits in the area, according to the newspaper.
Police have not publicly commented on those two incidents.
On Aug. 23, a group entered a house in Uluberia, Howrah district, where about 60 people had gathered for Sunday prayers, alleging that forced conversions were taking place.
Pastor Mithun Hazra said the group entered while chanting slogans, assaulted attendees and damaged the premises. Police later took those present to hospital, after which they filed a complaint, he told The Indian Express.
Howrah Rural Superintendent of Police Amit Verma said police had registered a first information report following the complaint. No arrests had been reported.
Herod Mullick, founder of the Bengal Christian Council, said similar disruptions occurred during house prayers on Aug. 30 in Jagatballavpur in Howrah and Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas.
Debdutta Majhi, president of Hindu right-wing organisation Singha Bahini, defended the protests, saying the group was opposing what it described as conversions carried out in exchange for financial inducements.
West Bengal Tribal Development and Minority Affairs Minister Kshudiram Tudu said people had the right to practise their faith and that the government did not interfere with religious beliefs. He added that authorities would act if forced conversions were taking place and encouraged people to lodge complaints.
Support Independent Media
Click Here and Join the Membership of Millat Times to Support Independent Media.
Support Millat Times