Hindu nationalists assaulted and paraded Pastor Bipin Bihari Naik by way of Parjang village, Odisha state, India on Jan. 4, 2026. (Morning Star Information)
NEW DELHI (Morning Star Information) – As police appeared on, a Hindu nationalist mob in India this month subjected a pastor to dehumanizing brutality, damaging his listening to and making an attempt to drive him to worship a Hindu deity, sources mentioned.
The mob of 150 villagers led by cow vigilantes garlanded with footwear Pastor Bipin Bihari Naik, 35, and made him stroll on thorns as they continued to assault him whereas parading him by way of Parjang village, Dhenkanal District, Odisha state, on Jan. 4. Together with tying him to a Hindu temple and forcing him to chant Hindu slogans, they tried to make him drink water combined with cow dung, the sources mentioned.
Pastor Naik, who sustained an damage affecting his listening to in a single ear, mentioned surviving the ordeal was a miracle as he was sure he could be killed.
“When my ordeal was unstoppable and police confirmed no intention of rescuing me, I surrendered my spirit to Jesus, figuring out they might kill me,” Pastor Naik instructed Morning Star Information.
The mob later indicated they have been upset that he was changing Hindus to Christianity, which isn’t a criminal offense in India.
Pastor Naik has been pastoring a home church in Parjang village for practically two years after transferring there eight years in the past.
About quarter-hour into his Jan. 4 worship service, about 40 individuals led by members of the Bajarang Dal, youth wing of the Hindu extremist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), together with cow vigilantes, barged into the home. The self-proclaimed cow vigilantes, who name themselves Gau Rakshaks (cow protectors), usually take the legislation into their very own palms to guard cows that Hindus think about sacred.
The mob known as Pastor Naik out of the home, however when he took time to take action, “they got here inside, took me by my collar and dragged me out and instantly began to beat me,” he mentioned.
The mob didn’t make any accusations or calls for however instantly started to assault him, he mentioned. When Pastor Naik tried to take his telephone out of his pocket to provide to his spouse so she may name police, one of many assailants struck him on the leg with a bamboo rod, smashing the system in his pocket.
His spouse, Bandana Naik, and daughters ages 13 and 10 witnessed the mob surrounding Pastor Naik and assaulting him.
“After I noticed that the attackers weren’t prepared to speak the matter out and have been decided to hit my husband with out purpose, I took my kids and escaped from a again door,” Bandana Naik instructed Morning Star Information. “I ran straight to the closest police station and reached there in about quarter-hour.”
Two males from the congregation tried to intervene, and the mob assaulted them as nicely. Pastor Naik signaled the congregation members, seven households and their kids, to flee, and so they escaped.
On the police station, officers instructed Pastor Naik’s spouse to first present a written report of the assault, one thing she indicated she was incapable of doing.
“I pleaded with them to shortly act and save my husband, however they insisted that I need to write first,” mentioned Bandana Naik.
She had no selection however to search for somebody who may write the report for her, and he or she discovered an individual to whom she then narrated the assault. After submitting the written criticism, Bandana Naik once more pleaded with police to rescue her husband, however they mentioned that the police automobile was out on patrol, and so they must watch for it.
“I used to be so anxious in my coronary heart ready for the police to do one thing, however they waited,” she mentioned.
Meantime, the mob assaulting Pastor Naik dragged him to the village middle and knowledgeable all bystanders that he had been “concerned in changing all of the harmless villagers to Christianity,” he mentioned.
They then took him to a close-by temple devoted to Hanuman, a half-monkey, half-human deity from Hindu mythology, and tied his palms behind his again to a pole on the temple premises.
The now 150-member mob kicked, slapped, pushed and pulled Pastor Naik, together with a journalist from Odia newspaper who abused him in vulgar language and instigated the mob to maintain hitting him, the pastor mentioned.
Repeated slapping prompted his face to swell as others kicked his again. As he fell to the ground every time they kicked him, Pastor Naik’s palms started to bleed from the pressure on the ligatures binding him to the pole.
“They hit me with 40 lashes with the bamboo sticks, and my listening to obtained impacted due to the a number of hundred slaps,” mentioned Pastor Naik, whose ear discharged pus in following days.
“Somebody from the mob obtained water combined with cow dung and tried to drive me to drink it, however I tightened my lips and didn’t let it enter my mouth,” he mentioned.
Officers patrolling the world returned to a police station to report the assault, however two policemen who went to rescue Pastor Naik returned saying that he was nowhere to be discovered. Pastor Naik mentioned he was relieved to see police approaching, however they circled and left.
He gave up all hope and ready to give up his spirit to God, he mentioned.
The assailants then untied him and took him close to the effigy of the deity Hanuman.
“They smeared my face with saffron vermilion and forcefully thrust my face and physique earlier than the deity and made me bow as if in worship,” he mentioned.
Saffron is taken into account a sacred powder related to worship of Hanuman.
The assailants demanded Pastor Naik chant the Hindu slogans, “Jai Shri Ram [Hail lord Ram],” however Pastor Naik mentioned, “Jai Yeshu [Hail Jesus],” and so they hit him extra, he mentioned. The mob then made a garland out of slippers, put it round his neck and paraded him all through the village barefoot.
“Certainly one of them mentioned, ‘Jesus was made to stroll on thorns, so allow us to deal with him the identical manner,’ and so they went and fetched branches of the bush that had sharp lengthy thorns and unfold them on the highway and compelled me to stroll on them,” Pastor Naik mentioned.
Whereas marching him down the highway, the mob crossed the identical police station the place his spouse was nonetheless ready anxiously for officers to rescue her husband. Displaying no concern of police, the Hindu nationalists boldly continued parading him with impunity, he mentioned.
After going across the whole village, the mob introduced Pastor Naik again and tied him within the Hindu temple.
“I insisted that I am going with the police and present them the place my husband was,” Bandana Naik mentioned.
She boarded the police automobile, and so they discovered him tied to the pole on the Hindu temple. It was after 2 p.m. when police rescued the pastor.
“I waited for the rescue for two-and-a-half hours within the police station whereas my husband suffered the horrendous assault,” Bandana Naik mentioned.
Police Failures
Whereas taking Pastor Naik into protecting custody, officers expressed shock at his situation, saying, “We thought that the mob by now will need to have damaged your palms and legs. We have been anticipating to hold you on a stretcher by now, however you look okay to us,” in response to the pastor.
Police didn’t rush him to the hospital for therapy, his spouse mentioned. Officers refused to register his First Data Report (FIR), as a substitute making him write an software stating that “the mob misunderstood my actions and mistook me for an individual finishing up unlawful conversions within the village and thus attacked me,” he mentioned.
“The police threatened to file a case towards me and put me in jail if I refused to oblige,” Pastor Naik added.
Officers demanded he signal paperwork, together with some clean papers, he mentioned.
When a Christian chief arrived to assist, he discovered “Naik’s face swollen, smeared with saffron colour, no footwear on his ft and each his palms bleeding.”
“He couldn’t wipe his face or shut his shirt buttons, as his palms have been filled with blood and he was in a lot ache,” mentioned the supply on situation of anonymity. “Police cared nothing and didn’t give him first assist, nor a glass of water to drink.”
When the Christian chief requested police the explanation for the delay in rescuing Pastor Naik, an officer mentioned, “We’re solely 4 policemen, and so they have been an enormous mob; how may we rescue him? Apart from, Naik is concerned in conversion, and how are you going to count on us to guard him?” the supply mentioned.
A policeman then started to inform the Christian chief about therapy Hindus are receiving in Bangladesh, akin to being burned alive.
“I used to be shocked on the hatred that has entered the hearts of safety forces who’re supposed to guard individuals in an unbiased method,” mentioned the Christian chief. “I needed to query him as to why he was settling the rating of the therapy given to Hindus in Bangladesh with a Christian right here in India.”
Police offered no report for the pastor to carry to the hospital for therapy, the supply mentioned.
“Actually, police took in writing from Christian leaders that they’re taking Pastor Bipin from the police station in wholesome situation,” he mentioned.
Fearing being adopted, Christian leaders drove him and his household 16 miles from the village to his brother’s home through a distinct route. After Pastor Naik had washed and composed himself, they drove him to a hospital, the place they didn’t inform the attending physician that he was assaulted by a mob, “in any other case the physician would have requested for a police report, which was not given to us,” mentioned the chief.
Pastor Naik had extreme ache in his again and legs.
“The physician gave Naik a couple of injections to ease his physique ache, dressed his open wounds and prescribed antibiotics for his wounds,” mentioned the supply.
Solely later did Pastor Naik understand that his listening to was impacted due to the blows on his face, and “there was fixed pus discharge from considered one of my ears,” he mentioned. He was on remedy and might need to get a CT-scan for his ear, he mentioned.
About 30 Christian leaders approached the workplace of the Superintendent of Police on Jan. 12 and submitted an software to register a proper criticism. The superintendent forwarded their software to the Parjang police station, resulting in the registration of FIR No. 0041 dated Jan. 13 towards Nigamananda Dalbehera and 20 unidentified individuals underneath the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 for “inflicting harm,” “wrongful restraint,” “illegal meeting,” “rioting,” “being armed with a lethal weapon” and “felony intimidation.”
The pastor and his household shifted to an undisclosed location 44 miles from the village and plan by no means to return.
“It has been a tough choice for us as a household to go away our dwelling there, however we’re unhappy that the villagers conspired and police have been hand-in-glove with them, thus the choice,” Pastor Naik instructed Morning Star Information.
The assailants approached his landlord and threatened him with dire penalties if he allowed the household again.
“Each my daughters noticed them beat me,” Pastor Naik mentioned. “They have been traumatized and couldn’t sleep for 4 nights and didn’t eat meals for 3 days. My youngest stored saying that ‘they hit my papa.’”
He beforehand confronted aggression thrice, however not none as extreme as this case, he mentioned.
“Native individuals mentioned, ‘How can a boy reside amongst us, keep within the village and train Christianity,’” he mentioned. “However the fact is that I solely discipled those that believed in Jesus; I didn’t drive anyone.”
The pastor mentioned he was grateful to God for saving him.
“Jesus bore a lot struggling for us; my struggling is nothing in comparison with my Lord’s struggling,” mentioned Naik.
The hostile tone of the Nationwide Democratic Alliance authorities, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Social gathering, towards non-Hindus has emboldened Hindu extremists in a number of components of the nation to assault Christians since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took energy in Could 2014, non secular rights advocates say.
India ranked 12th on Christian assist group Open Doorways’ 2026 World Watch Record of the international locations the place it’s most tough to be a Christian, up from 31st in 2013 earlier than Modi got here to energy.
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