Students denied any religious conversions had taken place, and an unidentified police said there was “no evidence of forced conversion”.
A Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Madhya Pradesh was filmed assaulting a visually impaired woman inside a church in Jabalpur, sparking political controversy in the state, according to media reports and video footage circulated on Monday.
The incident occurred on Saturday at a church in the Hawa Bagh area, which falls under the Gorakhpur police station limits, The New Indian Express reported.
The video shows Anju Bhargava, vice president of the BJP’s Jabalpur city unit, confronting the woman in the presence of a police officer. Bhargava is seen shouting at her, twisting her arm and grabbing her face. The woman can be heard asking Bhargava to speak to her instead of assaulting her.
Bhargava is also heard saying the woman “will be blind in her next birth too”.
According to The Indian Express, Bhargava entered the church along with members of several Hindutva organisations, accusing organisers of forcing visually impaired children to convert their religion.
Police officials told the newspaper that the event had been organised by Christian groups as part of Christmas celebrations, and that visually impaired students from a government-run hostel had been invited for lunch and a prayer meeting.
The students denied that any religious conversions took place. An unidentified police officer told The Indian Express there was “no evidence of forced conversion”.
Despite this, Hindutva organisations filed a police complaint questioning how students from a government hostel were taken to a religious site without official permission, the newspaper reported. They also alleged that prayers at the event were “exclusively Christian in nature and that non-vegetarian food was served”.
Bhargava defended her actions, telling the newspaper she had gone to the church after receiving information that “visually impaired women” were being “held against their will” near the premises.
She further claimed she had been “assaulted during the confrontation, but no complaint was filed by her side because the woman involved was blind”.
The video drew criticism from opposition leaders. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate shared the footage on social media, saying “cruelty is the easiest way to advance in the BJP”.
“These people are stains on society,” Shrinate said, referring to Bhargava.
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