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CV NEWS FEED // Two Catholic priests in eastern India say they were brutally beaten by police while trying to protect schoolgirls during a recent raid on their parish — an attack they believe was driven by false accusations of religious conversion.
The incident occurred March 22 in Juba village, where Fathers Joshi George and Dayanand Nayak, both serving in the Berhampur diocese, were targeted during a police raid, UCA News reported. The priests say the officers entered church property without a warrant or explanation and began attacking them with lathis (batons).
Fr. George described how chaos broke out when dozens of police officers stormed the parish compound.
“Some policemen entered our church compound and started beating our school girls, who were cleaning the church to prepare for the next day’s Sunday Mass,” he told UCA News. “Three girls came running to my room, shouting for help.” When he and Fr. Nayak stepped outside to intervene, the police allegedly turned on them. “They started to beat us with sticks,” Fr. George said.
Fr. Nayak sustained a fractured shoulder blade and head injuries and is currently recovering in a government hospital. The priests say they were forced to walk to a neighboring village while officers continued to beat and verbally abuse them — including accusations that they were foreigners using U.S. funds to convert locals.
“You have come here to convert people to Christianity and teach the people wrong things,” one officer reportedly shouted.
Bishop Sarat Chandra Nayak of Berhampur condemned the violence.
“The police officers simply barged into the parish compound and unleashed lathi blows on the innocent priests,” he told UCA News April 7.
The diocese filed an official complaint April 8 that also accuses officers of stealing 40,000 rupees (about $500) from the parish. The complaint was delayed, the bishop explained, because they were consulting legal experts, mindful that the accused are police in a state led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Fr. George said the attack followed a police operation the night before in a nearby village targeting alleged marijuana cultivation. Roughly 300 officers came to Jubo village the following morning. He stressed that the Church has no connection to drug activity.
“We have preached in our homilies multiple times, advising the villagers not to engage in cultivating ganja [marijuana],” he said.
The priests claim the violence was part of a broader pattern of intimidation.
“It was a well-planned attack against the Christians,” Fr. George said.
He added that police detained two Christian men during the raid but quickly released two Hindu men arrested at the same time.
This incident adds to a growing list of anti-Christian attacks in India. CatholicVote has previously reported on escalating religious persecution across the country, especially in rural regions where Christian minorities often face false accusations of forced conversions.
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