Published: 11:00 GMT Daylight Time - Tuesday 23 April 2013
Christian children’s home in India attacked by mob amid false accusations of converting children
Country/Region: South and East Asia, India
A Christian-run children’s home in India has been attacked by a group of Muslim extremists who beat staff and visitors and vandalised property. Islamic leaders have falsely accused the group running the home of converting Muslim children.
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| A violent mob forced its way inside the Christian-run children’s home |
A group of mullahs descended on the home in Srinagar, in the predominantly Muslim state of Jammu and Kashmir, on 10 April. During the attack they tried to kill Pastor Neethi Rajan, who runs the home, and attempted to kidnap the children staying there.
When the pastor and his family refused to let the Islamic leaders take the children, saying that only a parent or relative could remove them, another group of men arrived, armed with rocks and sticks. The mob beat the family and their guests, smashed windows and forced their way inside. They also vandalised a vehicle belonging to the home.
When police officers arrived, the distraction allowed the pastor’s family to hide in the attic. He described the terrifying raid, saying:
Watching through the floor boards, we could see the men searching rooms. They tried to light the house on fire, but the police stopped them.
The violence was brought to an end when riot police arrived and escorted the family and children to safety. But the militants have also threatened the home’s landlord, who has told the ecumenical Christian group that runs the institution to vacate the premises. They also killed the home’s pet dog.
Police found the mullahs’ accusation that the home was converting Muslim children to be groundless, and the Christian group has filed a report against them. The families of all eight children staying at the children’s home have made statements in support of the work it is doing.
In the month prior to the attack, the mullahs seized two children from the home and took them to Islamic schools. The children’s parents were threatened in the night by masked men.
In general, Christians in India are most vulnerable to attack by Hindu nationalists, but in Kashmir, an area that is 99% Muslim, they face persecution by Islamic extremists. Some organisations press for the introduction of sharia law in the area. A 119-year-old church in Srinagar was torched by Islamists in May 2012.
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