A 50-year-old Methodist church in Janwada village, Rangareddy district, in India’s Telangana State was vandalised on 13 February after clashes erupted between the villagers and church members over the laying of a road.
Rev Vijay Rao, District Superintendent of the Methodist Church, told CSW that tensions arose after the Janwada village head and elected village authorities asked Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority workers to extend a cement road eight feet into the compound of the church. Approximately 30 Christians were present in the church at the time, and they denied the workers permission to encroach on their premises and asked that they wait for their church leaders to arrive to discuss the issue.
Whilst they were waiting, a mob of over 200 villagers gathered outside the church and began quarrelling with the Christians. The villagers claimed that the road belonged to the government, while the Christians argued that the land legally belonged to the church. The Methodist church has all the relevant planning and building permissions, however villagers have been demanding the widening of the road and its encroachment into the church compound for several years.
At around 8pm, the mob entered the compound by force and began throwing stones and bricks at the church building. Some of the assailants are said to have chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ (a Hindu chant translating to ‘Hail Lord Ram’, which has been frequently adopted by Hindu nationalists in recent years), whilst vandalising the church.
Fourteen Christians were injured, including three who suffered severe head injuries. They were identified as T. Bikshapathi, N. Krishna and H. Raju and were admitted to the government hospital in Kondapur before being moved to Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad, which has better facilities, later that same day.
The Christians called the Mokila police station and the police arrived and dispersed the mob. After the First Information Report, which is required to start an investigation, was registered by the Christians, the Cyberabad Police Commissioner, the larger jurisdiction under which Janwada falls, imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, prohibiting gatherings of four or more people across Janwada until 21 February.
In the aftermath of the incident, Methodist church members from neighbouring areas attempted to meet in solidarity with the victims, but were prevented from entering Janwada by the police. On the night of the attack, MA Daniel, the Bishop of the Hyderabad Regional Conference of the Methodist Church of India visited the victims as well as the Cyberabad Police Commissioner who assured him that strict action would be taken against the perpetrators.
Twelve people have been arrested as of 23 February. However, some villagers have filed a counter complaint which claims that the Christians instigated the violence, and five Christians have been arrested as a result of this.
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘While we are pleased to see that the authorities have made some effort to ensure that justice is served in this case, CSW is nonetheless highly concerned at the growing frequency with which serious incidents of communal violence are taking place in multiple states across India. We call on the authorities in Janwada to ensure that the Methodist church receives reparations for the damage done to its buildings and the injuries received by several church members, and to bring all those responsible for this attack to justice.’
Notes to Editors:
- Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana State.
- Kondapur and Secunderabad are approximately 20 and 33km away from Janwada respectively.