Some 5,000 Christians marched silently through India’s Jharkhand State demanding the release of six Christians jailed on complaints of offering money to villagers to attract them to Christianity.
The Sept. 25 ecumenical “silent protest” was organized after a local court on Sept. 21 rejected the bail application of six Pentecostals, who were arrested Sept. 15 from Tukupani village in Simdega district.
“We wanted them to be released because they are innocent people who gathered for a prayer,” said Gladson Dung-dung, a Catholic leader, who was among those who organized the protest in Tukupani.
The court in Simdega district rejected the bail application of five men and a woman “seemingly under pressure from higher ups. But we are appealing to a higher court,” said Dungdung, who works for the rights of indigenous people. The arrested were charged with upsetting the religious feelings of others, district police chief Rajiv Ranjan Singh was quoted in local Hindi language media as saying.
Bishop Vincent Bar-wa of Simdega said an “atmosphere of suspicion” exists after the state’s pro-Hindu government passed an anti-conversion law Aug. 12. In several areas Hindu groups “act as if they have a mandate to keep a check on others, especially Christians,” he said.
