Three Christian Families in West Bengal Face Three Days of Attacks and Threats: FIR Names 13, No Arrests Yet

Three Christian families in a village in India's West Midnapore district of West Bengal have allegedly been harassed and threatened for three days. The victims also allege that Hindu rituals were forcibly imposed on them. The finger of accusation points at members of the hardline Hindutva group Bajrang Dal.

According to members of the victim families, the minor girls of the families were threatened with rape and abduction, and one woman was nearly stripped. The excited mob threatened to burn them alive and repeatedly pressured them to abandon Christianity. Even days after the incident, no one has been arrested yet.

It began on 18 October at around 3:30pm. When 40-year-old Lakshmi Mondal was doing household work, a group of more than 10 people, including at least three women, from a neighbouring village forced their way into her home. Lakshmi Mondal identified them as residents of the neighbouring village who are linked to the Hindutva organisation Bajrang Dal.

Lakshmi Mondal said: “They dragged me outside. I was slapped and hit hard on the head and below the ear, which made me lose consciousness.” When she regained consciousness, she saw the attackers trying to remove her clothes. She added: “I realised they were abusing me and shouting that I would be stripped. Three men removed my sari and tore my blouse.”

She alleges she was forcibly bathed as part of a “Hindu purification ceremony.” The people threatened to abduct and rape her 16-year-old daughter. She said: “They said I cannot keep faith in Christianity and that no Christian can live in this Hindu area.”

Two days after this attack, an FIR was filed at Chandrakona police station against 13 people. According to the FIR, the accused face charges of trespass, attempted murder, assault or use of force with intent to outrage a woman's modesty, theft, criminal intimidation and insulting a woman's modesty.

A senior police officer of West Midnapore said police have registered a case and begun investigating the incident. The officer said: “The family is at their home and a police team has been deployed there.” Asked whether Bajrang Dal was involved, he said: “We are looking into the matter.”

Lakshmi Mondal, who embraced Christianity three years ago, said the three families had been verbally threatened for the past year and told to abandon their faith. She said: “But this is the first time they entered our home, attacked us, abused us in obscene language and threatened to rape me and my daughter.” She alleges the police “gave them no protection” in the initial stage.

Immediately after the attack on Lakshmi Mondal, the group entered the homes of her two sisters-in-law, Banshree and Saraswati Mondal, who live nearby. Lakshmi Mondal said: “They were hit on the back with iron rods and abused in foul language. They broke the lock of Saraswati Mondal's room and stole 20,000 rupees.” Banshree Mondal's minor daughter was also attacked. The FIR states: “The 15-year-old girl was throttled with intent to kill. She was threatened with abduction and rape.”

Before leaving the homes, the attackers threatened to kill them. Lakshmi Mondal said: “They threatened that if we went to the police, we would be burned alive.” Undeterred, Lakshmi Mondal called 100. Police reached the spot at around 6:30pm. In her account: “But the police took no action. They left after some time without giving any security.”

Lakshmi Mondal said the attackers grew bolder after the police left. They surrounded the homes and allowed no one to go out. She said: “They were saying the police could do nothing to save us. So that very night we moved our daughter to another safe place.”

The next morning, 19 October, the mob returned again. Lakshmi Mondal said she, Banshree Mondal and their husbands were taken to a Durga Puja pandal in nearby Dingal village. There, all four were forced to offer puspanjali. The following morning, Lakshmi Mondal's husband was taken away again. She said: “They took my husband to an unknown place and threatened to kill him if we did not abandon Jesus Christ.” Her husband returned a few hours later.

After that, on 20 October, police were deployed in front of their home. Yet the fear has not gone. Lakshmi Mondal said: “But we are still in terrible panic. No one has been arrested. If the police are withdrawn, what will happen to us?”

Christian organisations say they are documenting the violence against the community across the state. A Christian leader in Kolkata said: “There have been at least 13 FIRs and more than 60 attacks, but in most cases no legal action has been taken against the offenders.” According to the 2011 census, Christians number about 650,000 in West Bengal, which is 0.72 percent of the state's total population. The victim families now look to what the investigation into this incident reveals and when police act against the accused.