Jailed Christians in India beaten by other inmates for 'defiling Hinduism'

Two Christians who were jailed in eastern India earlier this year were reportedly beaten by other inmates after it was discovered that they were accused of defiling Hinduism.

According to Morning Star News, Pastor Ajay Kumar and a Bible college student identified only as Asharya were jailed after Hindu extremists accused them of conducting fraudulent conversions.

In March, the extremists reportedly tried to entrap the two Christians into actions that would serve as the basis for the accusations. The pastor was visiting a church member's house in Begu Sarai District, when he received a call from an anonymous person who asked to meet with him.

"The caller told me that he really wanted to know about Christ and asked us to meet him at Har Har Mahadev Chowk," Kumar narrated.

When he and Asharya went to the meeting place, two men on a motorcycle appeared and introduced themselves. After the brief introduction, the men reportedly started asking questions and told them that a Christian girl and a Hindu boy in their village were in love and needed their help.

"They asked me, 'How much would it cost to convert and marry in Christianity? Tell us your price. We are ready to pay whatever it costs. Please help us.' I refused. Asharya and I understood it's a trap," Kumar told Morning Star News.

The Christians told the men that they would only share the Gospel, and would not convert anyone. Kumar also stressed that they do not perform marriages and did not want to be involved in the matter.

When Kumar said that he could not help them, the men became aggressive and started hitting them. "Then they dragged us both by the collar to the middle of the road and started shouting, 'Look at these people. They do conversions. These are the people who do conversions,' and because of his shouting a crowd, of over 50 people surrounded us," he said.

The police soon arrived at the scene and took the two Christians into custody. Kumar and Asharya were charged with destroying, damaging or defiling a place of worship or sacred object with intent to insult religion. Additionally, they were also charged with maliciously insulting religion or religious beliefs.

The legal team had filed a petition for regular bail as the police have been unable to find any evidence for the allegations against Kumar and Asharya. A judge had also ruled that the case was fit for regular bail but the case was transferred to another judicial magistrate who rejected the petition. As a result, Kumar and Asharya had to spend 28 days in judicial custody.

Kumar said that the first 10 days in jail were the most difficult as the inmates had found out that they were charged with defiling Hindu places of worship .

"They tortured us. In the middle of the night at around 12 a.m., we woke up and prayed till 3:30 a.m., we meditated on the chapters in Revelation and Psalms. We devoted our time for prayer and worship," the pastor said.

He noted that they did not try to convince anyone of their innocence but the other inmates eventually realized that they were framed.

Kumar said that they read the parables of Jesus and Psalms with the inmates every day and some began to turn to Christ. More than 30 out of the 42 members of their ward had converted to Christianity, according to the pastor.

The two Christians were released on bail on Nov. 29 when their case came up for hearing before the judge who had previously stated that the case was fit for regular bail.

Kameshwar Singh, an attorney representing Kumar and Asharya, said that since the charges against them are false, the Christians can either appear before court hearings and ultimately be acquitted, or they can go to the High Court in Patna to submit a petition to quash the First Information Report.

Christian leaders in India have noted that the incidents of Hindu extremists attempting to entrap Christians are increasing at an alarming rate.

Due to the increasing hostility against Christians in India, Open Doors USA has ranked the country in the 2017 World Watch List as the 15th nation where Christians experience the worst persecution.