Saturday, July 01, 2006

Christian body condemns attacks on minorities

Indo-Asian News Service

Raipur, June 29 (IANS) Attacks on the minorities, particularly on Christians are increasing alarmingly, a religious body said Thursday.

The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) said "minorities mainly the Christians are facing a series of attacks and assaults by hardliner Hindu groups in Chhattisgarh".

In an incident Sunday in Bothli village in Durg district, 45 km west of capital Raipur, dozens of activists of a Hindu group, Dharam Sena, disrupted a weekly prayer meeting of Christians and mercilessly beat up several minority community members," said Vijayesh Lal, co-ordinator of the Delhi-headquartered organisation in a statement.

"Even an eight-month pregnant Christian lady was punched and kicked at the stomach repeatedly by the fundamentalists and she had to be shifted to a hospital," the statement said.

The EFI alleged police are hardly paying attention to reports and complaints lodged by Christians regarding these assaults.

Earlier this month, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), which sent two of its members to the state in the wake of reported incidents of large-scale violence against minorities, made similar observations.

Indo-Asian News Service