In the hinterlands of Bengal, mostly hidden from the attention of the mainstream media, Hindutva outfits are mounting a sustained assault against small Christian communities.
Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed power in West Bengal, these minority communities have faced rising hostility, with Hindutva outfits and fringe groups launching attacks, disrupting services, assaulting Christian community members, and vandalising churches, alleging ‘forced conversion’ and proselytisation in almost every case to carry out the harassment and violence.
Police have registered FIRs in several of these incidents, but no action has been taken against the perpetrators. Instead, victims are being taken to police stations, said Bangiya Christiya Pariseba (BCP) founder Herold Mullick.
“Over the past two-and-a-half to three months, such incidents have increased across districts, following a similar pattern. We have repeatedly sought a meeting with the chief minister, demanding an impartial investigation. But the government is not paying heed. So many people are being beaten, crosses are being broken, and someone or the other is being subjected to harassment every other day. The chief minister has not said a single word. We are all frightened and anxious,” Mullick told Alt News.
Asked about the allegations of forced conversion, he said, “Conversion does not happen by simply gathering people and sprinkling water on them. False narratives are being deliberately created. The Christian church is totally opposed to converting people forcefully or through fear. If any group is engaging in anything unlawful, we dissociate ourselves from it.”
Mullick explained that an established church is a long-standing congregation with its own church building, while a free or house church comprises smaller congregations, often of first-generation Christians, who are not affiliated with an established church. In most of the cases, these house churches are facing the attacks.
Alt News has documented around 35 such incidents from July to September 20.
September 20: Khejuri, East Midnapore
A group of around 50 people affiliated with Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal raided a Church in Dekhali Jalpai village of Khejuri Block II, East Midnapore, during Sunday prayer service on September 20, demanding that the church be immediately shut down.
Video shows one of the members of the mob saying, “Christianity is not an Indian culture” and that the Bible was not written in India or in an Indian language. The discussion soon escalated into a confrontation, with worshippers allegedly being assaulted, heckled and manhandled.
Speaking to Alt News, Lucky Jana, who led the prayer, said, “Around 12 noon, around 70-80 unknown men entered the church chanting ‘Jai Sri Ram’. They told us to stop the proceedings and warned us to close the church.” There were around 20 worshippers today. Jana said, “The group refused to listen to our attempts to reason with them, and suddenly, the situation became violent.” Additionally, Jana said, “They physically heckled us. They pulled my collar and intimidated me. Multiple attendees got hurt. They even hit a juvenile– grandson of the Pastor.” Jana added that the church has existed for 28-30 years and that this was the first time they had faced such intimidation, apart from isolated incidents during Christmas.
Jana said the church had anticipated possible disruption and had requested police protection for its Sunday prayers. Two civic police personnel were present during the altercation. An FIR was filed at Khejuri police station.
The attackers locked the church and wrote ‘Ram’ all over its walls and doors.
September 16: Amta, Howrah
Putul Manna and her husband Kanchan Manna, residents of Ghoraberia Dakshin Bhatora village in Amta, told The Times of India that a group of men barged into their house while they were hosting a prayer meeting on September 16. The couple alleged that the group threatened them with eviction and told them to renounce Christianity.
Putul said, “They told us to renounce Christianity and convert to Hinduism, warning that we would otherwise be forcefully evicted from our property.” “We initially thought of leaving our house… but I have two sons, one of them is 10 years old. Why should they be evicted from their ancestral home? I have lodged a police complaint,” Putul added.
Digital news outlet Inscript.me interviewed the distressed couple, who recounted their ordeal. “When we said we can’t renounce our faith, we were told we had to leave that night itself,” says Kanchan.
Sanjay Paul, an officer from Joypur police station, however, told Alt News that no complaint had been lodged. He also informed us that the couple had not been evicted from their home.
September 13: Dantan, West Midnapore
A group of saffron-clad men disrupted a Sunday prayer service at a house church in Sirni village in Talda, Dantan, in West Midnapore, on September 13. The group chanted ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans.
In a video uploaded by one of the disruptors, Indrajit Das, the men appear to intimidate those attending the prayer. One of them can be heard saying, “Christianity is not an Indian religion. The Indian government doesn’t provide a national holiday or celebrate any Christian auspicious occasion”. He further claimed that India doesn’t allow the practice of Christianity.
The confrontation escalated into a heated altercation. The Hindutva team allegedly threatened to tie the worshippers to tree trunks if they did not comply.
Ashalata Murmu, who was leading the service, recounted the incident to TOI. One of the men told them, “Don’t you know that the government has declared churches and mosques are closed? None of this can be done anymore.” When Nayak said he was unaware of any such order and refused to comply, he was allegedly assaulted.
September 12: Joypur, Bankura
A group of more than 20 men, identifying themselves as members of Hindutva outfits like Hindu Jagran Manch and Bajrang Dal, allegedly confronted a woman, Tulsi Das, at her home in Shalpudanga village, Shyamnagar, Joypur, Bankura, accusing her of forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity.
Das rejected the allegations. She said she is a Hindu but chooses to pray to Jesus, which she said is not illegal. Three or four other women worshippers present at her home said Das neither solicited nor offered money to them. They said she had told them that praying to God could help with healing.
The Hindutva members allegedly threatened that Das would be suspended from school, where she taught and socially boycotted unless she wrote a letter admitting to the “treacherous crime” of converting Hindus.
Videos of the confrontation and intimidation were uploaded by Facebook user Sudip Roy. The entire exchange can be heard in the videos shared by him.
September 10: Kulpi, South 24 Parganas
A Facebook video uploaded by Raja Pramanik, who claims to be the head of the Bajrang Dal Kulpi unit, shows members of Bajrang Dal and VHP Kulpi together confronting “Christian Jihadis” in Patkelberia village of Ishwarpur, Kulpi, on September 10, announcing that they had stopped Hindus from being converted to Christianity.
In the video, the group is seen misbehaving with elderly people, shouting and aggravating the situation. They tore a Bible being carried by an elderly woman and threatened the worshippers with consequences if they did not stop praying to Jesus.
When the worshippers attempted to explain their position, one woman was threatened, “Jib tene chirey debo” (“I’ll tear your tongue out”).
The women in the house repeatedly said they had neither forced anyone to visit their homes nor pressured anyone to adopt Christianity, and that they were worshipping Jesus of their own choice.
September 10: Panskura, East Midnapore
Several videos uploaded by a VHP member named Malay Saha on Facebook show members of Bajrang Dal Panskura confronting worshippers and claiming to have stopped a “conversion trap” in Ward No. 6 of Baldingra, Panskura, on September 10.
The video shows self-proclaimed saviours of Hindutva intimidating, heckling, and halting a prayer. They said, “One cannot practice Christianity in a Hindu village”.
The group barged inside the house and alleged that in Christianity, men married their own daughters. They also asked them not to accept government benefits, saying Jesus would provide for them.
The worshippers were made to bow in front of a Tulsi plant, chant ‘Hare Krishna ’, and state their names. One of the worshippers was mute; she couldn’t speak, but was continuously heckled by the miscreants. Police eventually intervened.
Alt News contacted Malay Saha, who identified himself as a VHP member. He said police had warned the worshippers but had not detained anyone. When we wanted to speak further, he refused.
September 6: Kulpi, South 24 Parganas
Members of Bajrang Dal, Durga Bahini and other Hindutva outfits allegedly raided a house where local Christians were praying. The group reportedly tore the religious books, physically heckled, mistreated, intimidated, and publicly humiliated people for worshipping Jesus and practising Christianity. Accusations of religious conversion followed, and eventually police were called to take action against the worshippers.
Multiple videos uploaded by a user, Proloy Purkait, show women being heckled, religious books being torn, and attendees being told to remove sindur (vermillion) and other symbols allegedly associated with Hinduism. ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans can also be heard.
In another video shared by Amit Halder, a Bajrang Dal Kulpi member, a worshipper named Partha Purkait says he identifies as Hindu and reads both the Gita and the Bible, having studied at Ramakrishna Mission. The men questioned why a Hindu would read the Bible and asked whether he had also performed namaz.
The video above shows a woman member from the Hindutva group attempting to slap a young girl after she said, “Hail Jesus”.
Police warned Purkait not to visit the village again and said no such incidents should recur. They also told the Hindutva members that there was no legal basis to take action against the worshippers.
September 6: Dantan, West Midnapore
A Christian man was allegedly held captive by a group of 20 Hindutva men and villagers over accusations of Christian proselytisation.
In a video, the man said he had gone to the house of a man named Nitai, who had accepted Jesus, to conduct Sunday prayers. While he was singing hymns and leading the service, the group allegedly detained him.
They accused him of insulting Hindus and provoking people to slaughter cows in a Hindu village. They told him that Christian religious practices should be conducted in a church and not in a Hindu village or at a Hindu man’s home.
One of the hecklers said, “This is Hindustan. And you are practising Christianity and also converting people to Christianity. You should be thrown out of the country”. They asked, “Which terrorist from Pakistan sends funds to you, or is it coming from Bangladesh?”
The video also shows a man being threatened with a public beating. One of the men says, quite inexplicably, “These are jihadi terrorists. Muslims agents.”
September 5: Kulpi, South 24 Parganas
Members of Bajrang Dal Kulpi and VHP stormed into a house during a prayer gathering in a village in Ramnagar, Ishawarpur, Kulpi assembly constituency.
Alt News identified a few of the hecklers. The man wearing a saffron kurta in the video above is Bikash Sardar, who tore the religious books that the attendees were carrying. The group kept accusing the owner of the house and the host of the prayer meeting of converting Hindus and preaching Christianity, which the victims continuously deny.
One in the group says, “Today BJP is in power, and so you are safe, or else you would have been raped and dumped”. They asked the booth secretary to refuse to give government aid to the Christian worshippers. “If one has to stay in India, has to stay with Ram and Krishna. If you want to pray to Jesus, then go to London”.
Raja Pramanik heckled and intimidated an elderly widowed woman and told her, “You have engulfed your husband; now you want to engulf your sons as well? That you are preaching Christianity. Have you ever preached the Gita?”
When Alt News spoke to Pramanik, head of Bajrang Dal Kulpi unit, he said, “For the past 22 days, we, the Bajrang Dal, have been conducting daily raids at places where conversions are taking place.”
He alleged, “Christians are receiving foreign funds and offering financial incentives to poor Hindu villagers to convert them. Most of the people have told us that they were suffering from an illness, and praying to Jesus has helped them heal. How is that even possible? Everything is a scam.”
“If one is a Christian from birth, we have no issues. But why always, Hindus are converted to Christianity? Not in a single congregation did we find a single Muslim,” he added.
Alt News also spoke to Dipan Ghosh, a Bajrang Dal member who had uploaded several videos of such incidents but later removed them. Asked why, he said, “Our seniors have asked us to take the videos down, as a few ‘Hindu-virodhi’ and ‘anti-national’ elements are portraying our work in a negative light.”
They threatened, “If in future we get to know something like this is happening again, the entire Bajrang Dal team will come and destroy the entire house. Beware.”
September 5: Sonamukhi, Bankura
A video uploaded by a user named Akshay Baru, who identifies himself as a “BJP lover, ABVP lover, and Kattar Hindu” in his Facebook bio, shows a group of men entering a congregation organised by Friends Fellowship Haldia, in Sonamukhi, Bankura. The caption says that the raid was carried out by Bajrang Dal. The group accused the gathering of being a mass conversion programme.
The video shows men assaulting the pastor, twisting his hands and snatching the Bible from him, attempting to tear it apart when women attendees intervened.
September 3: Panskura, East Midnapore
Malay Saha, who told Alt News that he was a Bajrang Dal member, uploaded a video on Facebook alleging that Hindu children, women and elderly people were invited to a Christian meeting held at a rented guest house for Christian preaching and religious conversion on September 3. The gathering, at Panskura station road in East Midnapore district, was allegedly raided and stopped by groups of Hindutva outfits.
The video shows attendees being verbally harassed and warned that religious conversion will not be permitted in the “new Bengal”.
August 30: Hingalganj, North 24 Parganas
Members of Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Manch raided a Christian prayer meeting at Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas. They harassed the attendees, including a person from Argentina who was involved in and leading the Christian prayers, along with local Christian attendees. The members accused them of facilitating religious conversions, questioned why they were reading the Bible instead of the Gita, and challenged their right to conduct private prayer meetings in their homes without permission in a Hindu locality.
According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, police detained three people, including two foreign nationals. Locals alleged that people from Australia, Germany, and Argentina often visited the house and offered money to locals in lieu of conversion to Christianity.
Multiple calls to Hingalganj police station went unanswered.
August 26: Tamluk, Purba Midnapore
A group that gathered for a prayer meeting at a house in Check Milepost village in East Midnapore was attacked by members of Hindutva outfits, BCP founder Herod Mullick told Alt News. Pastor Joy Sutradhar told The Indian Express, “They were chanting slogans and said we were forcefully converting people… Our community members called up our lawyers, who came to the police station and had us released. Out of fear, we did not file a complaint.” Both the pastor and his wife were beaten up.
Mullick said they later filed a complaint via email.
August 25: Ghusuri, Howrah
Indian Express reported that a prayer meeting at a house church in Ghusuri, Howrah, was attacked by some vigilantes. Father Suraj Saroj told Indian Express, “Community members were beaten up, and some people were injured. I tried to reason with the mob, but they refused to understand.”
Saroj alleged that police made them wait for hours at the station, and then “enquired about the church, funds and credentials”. “We did not file a complaint. We have decided to suspend all house prayers and visits.”
August 25: Howrah
According to a post by Anti-Christian Tracker Watch, a social media account documenting anti-Christian hate crimes in India, on August 25, a Christian man and woman were brutally assaulted, paraded, humiliated with religious slogans, and the man was forced shirtless by Hindutva extremists. “Later, police arrested both victims; the attackers walked free,” the X post said.
🚨 HOWRAH, WB | 25 AUG’26
Christian man & woman were brutally assaulted, paraded, humiliated with religious slogans, & the man was forced shirtless by Hindutva extremists. Later, police arrested both victims, the attackers walked free.@HRW @IJM @StateIRF @StateDRL @thewire_in pic.twitter.com/MbHpCDuoea
— Anti Christian Tracker Watch – ACT India ✝️ (@ACTWatchIndia) September 4, 2026
August 24: Magrahat, South 24 Parganas
A video uploaded on Facebook, accompanied by a caption alleging that members of Bajrang Dal and Durga Bahini disrupted a Christian prayer meeting in the Multi Baniberia area of Magrahat, accusing them of converting Hindus by tempting them with money and other inducements.
The video shows the attendees being heckled, harassed, mistreated and humiliated. A Durga Bahini member physically assaulted a woman attendee by twisting her hand, slapping her and strangling her. Another video shows the same woman beating and showering slaps on other attendees.
Alt News spoke to Bikash Sardar, who uploaded the video. He identified himself as a Bajrang Dal member and said that he was part of the group that raided the house on suspicion of forceful conversion, or conversion under temptation. “They are wearing shakha (bangles worn by married Hindu women)and sindur, and also carrying a Bible and books of Jesus. Why? Either they should completely change to Christianity, or be a pious Hindu.”
August 23: Uluberia, Howrah
An outfit named Hindu Sanghati Shyampur branch uploaded a video showing its members raiding a congregation, vandalising property, and harassing attendees. They alleged that Hindus were being forcefully converted at the event.
Alt News spoke to Debasis Pakhira, an official at Brother Sister Relationship Church, which hosted the Sunday Church prayers at a rented house that was ransacked. Pakhira said, “Pastor Mithun Hazra, who led the prayers on that day, was hit on his head by the assailants, and he went unconscious. Later, when the police arrived at the site, Pastor Hazra was admitted to a hospital.”
Pastor Mithun Hazra told the Indian Express, “After treatment, we went to the police station and filed a complaint. Since that day, we have not held house prayers in the area.”
August 23: Hijla, Purulia
According to a post by Hindutva Watch, VHP-Bajrang Dal members, accompanied by police, intervened at a Christian prayer meeting, alleging that it was being used for religious conversions. They accused the owner of the residence of being complicit, said such activities would not be tolerated in a Hindu locality, and described Christianity as a Western practice. They later held a rally against religious conversions, ‘Love Jihad’, and cow slaughter.
August 16: Durgapur, West Bardhaman
Anti-Christian Tracker Watch reported that on August 16, Hindutva extremists disrupted a Christian worship service at a Nepali para in Durgapur. The elderly and women were intimidated, phones were snatched, and a car was vandalised. The Christians were accused of converting Hindus and gaining a fortune.
DURGAPUR, WB | 16 AUG’26
Hindutva extremists attacked a peaceful Christian worship. Elderly & women intimidated, phones snatched, and a car vandalised.
Peaceful citizens have the right to gather & worship without fear.
Authorities Must ACT!@HRW @USCIRF @Cpadpc @thewire_in pic.twitter.com/p11idM9W21
— Anti Christian Tracker Watch – ACT India ✝️ (@ACTWatchIndia) August 17, 2026
August 14: Sahanagar, East Bardhaman
St. Claret Church in Sahanagar, East Bardhaman, was attacked during a gathering, and a funeral was disrupted with where mourners allegedly assaulted, reported the Indian Express. Parish priest-in-charge Father Samuel Hembrom told the Indian Express that the mob demanded to see the papers of the burial ground. “We said give us some time to get them from the church… we protested. But they did not allow the burial. The body had already been lowered into the grave; the mob took it out. The body had to be taken to another cemetery in Bardhaman town,” said Hembrom.
Purba Bardhaman SP Pushpa stated that locals opposed an outsider’s burial on allegedly private property rather than a cemetery. The officer said: “I don’t think there was an assault. However, I will check with the local police station. There was a law and order problem and police priority was to control that.”
August 9: Arambagh, Hooghly
A Facebook page ‘Proud to be a Christian’ uploaded a video on August 9, accompanied by a caption that alleges a Hindutva extremist mob sporting saffron scarves raided a Sunday Christian worship service in Arambagh Church and assaulted Bishop Anil Bhowmick and other believers.
August 9: Behala, Kolkata
According to a post by Hindutva Watch, members of Hindu Jagaran Manch raided a Church and harassed the pastor and the attendees. They accused the pastor of luring Hindus into conversion by offering money, and warned that religious conversion would not be tolerated in a Hindu-majority locality. The members later staged a protest outside Haridevpur Police Station, demanding action against those involved.
Alt News spoke to Siddharth Mondol, nephew of Anil Kumar Dolui, an evangelist who led the Sunday Church prayer service of Sodepur Church. Mondol told us that this was the first time that they had faced something like this.
“Around 7 pm, a Hindutva mob interrupted the prayer service, heckled, and misbehaved with my uncle,” he said, adding that for the past several years, the Sodepur Church branch held its Sunday prayer service at the rented space, but now “the owner doesn’t want to continue any more”.
After the incident, Dolui had to be hospitalised for 14 days. “Now we have halted our congregations. We have restricted the prayers to just house prayers. Attendees are scared of assaults,” Mondol said, adding, “What we are receiving is violence in return for love and care.”
August 9: Golgram, West Midnapore
According to a post by Hindutva Watch, members of the Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Manch raided a Christian prayer meeting over alleged religious conversions, accusing those present of trying to turn India into a Christian country. They detained individuals they identified as “outside missionaries” and threatened to hand them over to the police.
July 31: Nazat, South 24 Parganas
Members of VHP allegedly entered into a Christian mission premises, Claret Premaloy, in Nazat in South 24 Parganas district, confronting Father Anuj Hembrom and issuing a 7-day ultimatum to close the mission and threatening the priests to leave the district.
Father Anuj Hembrom told UCA News that eight to ten men, including one who identified himself as a “local Hindu councillor”, questioned the missionaries and threatened to lock the mission if they did not leave within seven days. They accused them of converting tribal and Hindu families and receiving foreign funds. Three men returned the next morning, prompting the missionaries to file an FIR. Police later visited the institute and assured them of safety.
July 31: Sandeskhali, North 24 Parganas
A group of self-proclaimed monks associated with a Hindu organisation reportedly stormed into the Grace Community Church in Sandeshkhali around 3 pm, pressuring Pastor Santosh Tudu to renounce Christianity and embrace Hinduism, and further alleged that the Church was receiving foreign funds to plot subversive activities.
Speaking to Alt News, pastor Tudu recounted, “Around 8-9 poeple entered the church trying to intimidate me. They accused me of multiple things including converting Hindus with inducements. They tried to create a hostile environment, but I spoke to them with gentleness. They told me I must leave the area by August 5 if I refuse to convert. They promised me a luxurious lifestyle if I gave up my faith. But when I resisted, they branded us Christians as ‘anti-nationals,’ ‘traitors,’ and even ‘terrorists’.”
“I had complained to the police station, but I am not aware whether an FIR was registered or not,” pastor Tudu added.
July 29: Bakrahat, South 24 Parganas
A Facebook user, Dipshikha Mondal, posted a video boasting that members of the Bajrang Dal and Durga Bahini had stormed into a private residence and halted a Christian prayer service. The video shows the group heckling, intimidating, mistreating, and threatening the worshippers. They tore religious books and chanted ‘Jai Sri Ram’. Moreover, the group chanted Hindu mantras, calling it a ‘cleansing ritual’.
Alt News could not independently verify the date of the incident. The video was first uploaded by Mondal on July 29.
July 26: Raipur, Bankura
According to a Hindutva Watch post, members of the VHP intervened in a Christian gathering following allegations of attempts to convert Hindus to Christianity. The video shows the group verbally harassing the women leading the prayer meeting, demanding their husbands’ contact details, and asserting that such gatherings would not be permitted in a Hindu-majority neighbourhood.
July 21: Raniganj, West Bardhaman
According to a post uploaded by Hindutva Watch, VHP members, led by Shubham Raut, raided a Christian Sunday prayer meeting, assaulted and harassed the attendees, accusing them of engaging in religious conversion. They handed over 20–25 attendees to the police, who launched an investigation into the gathering.
July 21: Haldia, East Midnapore
A Facebook page named Sanatani Aikkya (‘Unity’ in Bengali) — a Hindutva outfit — posted a video boasting that their members, along with Hindu Jagran Manch, had barged into a private residence where Sunday Christian prayers were being held in Chakdwipa, Haldia. The video shows that the attendees were heckled, verbally abused, mistreated and accused of brainwashing and converting Hindus.
The group questioned whether the gathering had official permission. They asked attendees about their ‘actual religious identity’, derided Christians and Christianity, and dismissed the faith as fraudulent.
July 18: Baruipur, South 24 Parganas
Hindu nationalist supporters surrounded, followed, and heckled a group of Christian women, accusing them of indulging in religious conversion. They questioned why the women were carrying Bibles while wearing shakha, pola, (bangles worn by some married Hindu women) and sindoor, calling them “sold-out Hindus” who had abandoned their religion for money. The group continued to harass the women despite their repeated objections, repeatedly referring to them as “bejaat Hindus” and telling them to leave the country, reported Hindutva Watch.
July 12: Barasat, North 24 Parganas
A group of around 60 people reportedly entered the premises of the Auxilium Salesian Sisters in Barasat on July 12 and threatened the nuns with violence unless they immediately demolished a memorial chapel and cemetery currently under construction, according to the FMA Salesian Sisters and the All India Catholic Union (AICU).
The FMA Sisters said, according to the Catholic Connect, the project has faced objections following the change in government and has since become the focus of protests.
July 5: Subhashgram, South 24 Parganas
Hindutva activists demolished an under-construction church in the Buri Bottala area of Subhashgram in Sonarpur police station area of South 24 parganas district. Geeta Haldar, an evangelist at the church, told Alt News about the harrowing incident. She said, “Around 15 men attacked the church around 2:30–3 pm, declaring that the church could not be constructed here. They then smashed the window panes and doors. Two men scaled the walls and broke the crosses installed on the roof of the church.”
“I had informed the police. By the time they reached the location, the attackers had fled the area,” Haldar added. Asked whether the attackers were known faces from the locality, Haldar said, “No, they were not immediate locals. The people who live around the church are all Christians.”
Recalling the police action, Haldar said, “Police detained three individuals, but they were not the ones we had seen attacking our church.” She added, “Police and municipality officials have asked us to halt the construction of the church and produce all legitimate documents.”
Haldar alleged that the police were uncooperative when they sought to file an FIR against the attackers. She claimed, “A police officer in civil clothes made racist remarks against our Father Kash Mullick, who hails from Mizoram. He also told us that the FIR could not be registered that day, after keeping us waiting until 8 pm.”
Haldar said, “We have resumed prayer services at a residence in the colony for the time being. But we were deeply hurt to witness such hatred in people’s hearts.”
July 5: Katwa, East Bardhaman
Members of seven Hindutva outfits disrupted a Sunday prayer service at Grace Church in Faridpur, Katwa, East Bardhaman, where Pastor Surajit Ghosh was assaulted along with several other attendees. “One of the victims of the assault was an 11-year-old boy, Ghosh’s nephew,” Suvashish Gayen, the director of Grace Mission, told Alt News. “Grace Church functions under Grace Mission, a government-registered charitable trust. We are a Christian mission serving the community for 20 years. We also run a children’s school. We do social welfare activities and have a good reputation in the community,” Gayen addee.
Pastor Surajit Das narrated the incident to Alt News, “On July 5 at 11 am, while we were conducting regular worship at Grace Church, a mob led by Narattom Saha, Srikanta Chatterjee, Somnath Chowdhury, Susil Das, Pulokesh Biswas, Kanai Debnath and others forcibly entered the premises. They vandalised the church hall, broke doors, assaulted me, my daughter, my nephew and other members, threatened to kill me, and stole cash ₹25,000, 2 mobile phones and personal documents.”
Das added, “We had submitted a protection application to Katwa PS on the previous day. An FIR was also lodged with the help of BCP.” This was done following several online threats and defamatory allegations that were circulated by the earlier mentioned individuals on social media platforms, Das explained.
Moreover, on the same day, they had a meeting with the IC, Katwa PS and SDPO, Katwa. As per their instructions, said Das, “The church service cannot be held until further orders. The school/educational activity under the name “Grace Mission” cannot be run until proper legal documents are submitted. And we have been given 30 days to submit all required legal documents for verification.”
When asked about the recent update, Das said, “I have submitted all the documents related to the established Mission. Officers have visited and inspected the school. We are still waiting for a proper declaration.” “In the meantime, we are currently conducting classes at another location, in collaboration with another school,” Das mentioned.
“The FIR has not yet led to any arrests”, Gayen added.
July 4: Palbari, Paschim Medinipur
In a press statement, BCP said that on July 4, members of Bangiya Hindu Jagran Mancha disrupted a wedding reception and thanksgiving prayer service, physically assaulting attendees (including women), forcibly removing traditional marital symbols (sindoor and bangles), throwing religious books on the road and stamping on them. Later, police detained Pastor Rev. Anup Ghosh following conversion accusations, as per the statement reported by Catholic Connect.
The hecklers have also accused the attendees of physically assaulting them in a video uploaded by the Bangiya Hindu Jagran Mancha.
July 1: Haldia, East Midnapore
A video uploaded by a Facebook user on July 1 shows men adorning saffron scarves, identifying themselves as members of the Shree Ram Janmotsav committee, Chaitanyapur branch, heckling and humiliating two women for allegedly preaching Christianity by distributing pamphlets. The men from the group said, “Now, there is a nationalistic government in West Bengal, which will not tolerate preaching Christianity or ‘love jihad’ to safeguard Sanatanis”.
Recurring patterns in the Attacks
Across the incidents tracked by Alt News, several recurring patterns emerged: Raising of Jai Sri Ram slogans, the claims by the attackers that it’s a ‘new Bengal’ under BJP rule where Christianity would not be tolerated, that Christianity was not in Indian culture, that every small private church was indulging in forced conversions, and that it was unacceptable for women to wear bangles and vermillion like some Hindu married women did, and then practise Christianity. In some cases, the attackers also claimed that at several prayer meets, attendees said they had turned to Christianity or prayed to Jesus after experiencing relief from health issues.
When Alt News asked pastors, evangelists and BCP founder Herold Mullick about the miraculous healing claims, they attributed such experiences to faith, saying that collective prayer and a person’s belief in recovery could contribute to the recovery of an unwell person. “We, on behalf of the Church,” said Mullick, “believe in a healing ministry. But it is not that a person is healed simply because of prayer. The person who comes to us develops a sense of faith.”
“Having said that, we do not support inviting people for practices such as jolpora or telpora (traditional water-based and oil-based remedies/ritual treatments, often associated with folk healing or spiritual practices in Bengal),” Mullick added.
“If I invite people solely by promising healing, that too becomes a form of inducement, and we condemn it,” Mullick clarified. “It is acceptable to say, ‘Come and pray to the Lord, have faith and you may get better.’ But saying, ‘Come to me and I will cure you’ is not right,” he explained.
About women wearing markers of Hinduism like vermillion, evangelist Geeta Haldar said, “Christianity does not restrict a person from expressing themselves or practising cultural traditions. A Christian couple may choose to apply sindoor during their wedding.”
Mullick attributed misconceptions about Christianity to its portrayal in popular media, particularly films. “What we see in movies and similar fictional representations is a Westernised idea of Christianity. We are Bengalis, and because of our culture and traditions, Bengali Christians wear bangles (sakha-pawla) and apply sindoor. It is quite common. The claim that Christians cannot wear these is false. These are part of our culture and tradition. There may be one or two sects that do not permit this, but their numbers are few and they do not represent Christianity as a whole.”
This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Ankita Mahalanobish.
Ankita Mahalanobish | Radio Free (2026-09-26T08:17:11+00:00) Churches vandalised, prayers disrupted, pastors beaten up: Christian groups in Bengal face Hindutva outfits’ ire. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2026/09/26/churches-vandalised-prayers-disrupted-pastors-beaten-up-christian-groups-in-bengal-face-hindutva-outfits-ire/
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