New Delhi: Tensions were high on Sunday (November 28) in Delhi’s Dwarka area after a new church was vandalised and people praying inside were assaulted, allegedly by members of the Bajrang Dal.
Located in Dwarka’s Matiala area, the church was holding its first ever Sunday prayers when at around 8:30 am, a mob of around “100 people” stood outside the church and allegedly raised ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans and vandalised the signboard with the church’s name.
Speaking to The Wire about the incident, an eyewitnesses and the coordinator at the church, Robinson, said that the mob had started collecting from around 8:30 am and grew to more than 100 people. “They first chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Goli maaro‘ slogans, after which we tried to calm them down. They started abusing us and then climbed the tables that were kept outside. Then they started breaking the board using hammers and lathis that they had brought with them,” he said.
The church – Ankur Narual Ministries – is part of a Jalandhar-based organisation run by Apostle Ankur Narula, who is senior pastor and overseer in The Church of Signs and Wonders. “He is a big thing in Punjab. Thousands attend his service in Punjab and today we were going to attend the same, online, here,” Robinson added.
Robinson further said that the mob made allegations of “forced conversion” against the church.
Also read: Belgavi: Cops Tell Christians to Skip Prayer Meets to Avoid Right-Wing Attacks
The church was inaugurated on November 23 and was constructed in a newly established warehouse. The area has many warehouses.
While the incident has shocked those who had come to attend the prayers, the caretakers of the church have alleged that this was not the first time they were threatened. According to the complaint filed by the church, on Sunday night at around 12 am, two men on a bike “forcefully tried to enter the church and threatened the people”.
“They abused us and warned us of consequences. We asked them to leave, not wanting to create a scene,” Puneet, another eyewitness who also volunteers at the church, said.
Two FIRs have been files after the incident: one against those who vandalised the church for causing public nuisance, and another against those present in the church for violating the Delhi Disaster Management Authority’s guidelines. Both FIRs have been filed at Bindapur police station.
According to the police, DDMA guidelines were violated because the warehouse-turned-church has not yet been designated as a religious area.
Later on Sunday, when the worshippers had once again collected in the church for evening prayers, another attempted attack took place. The Wire was present when two men on bikes tried to create a ruckus. The man who was sitting at the back of the bike was caught by the people inside the church. While the police has denied this allegation, some churchgoers claimed that the man who got away had a pistol with him. The Wire was unable to verify this allegation.
He was identified as a local of the area who had been present during the morning’s vandalism as well.
The church on Sunday evening. Photo: Nikita Jain
When The Wire spoke to the assistant sub-inspector in-charge who had come minutes later to inspect the situation, he said, “Nothing serious has taken place. These people had an argument in the morning. Everyone has been alleging something or the other, what can we do in the matter? We have beefed up security. The church people are making a big issue out of the whole situation.”
The president of Ankur Narual Church, Jitendra Messiah Gaurav, said that they are not going to let the issue slide. He, along with others present at the church, demanded that the man they had caught be taken to the police station. After a few minutes of argument, the police took the man with them. Members of the church followed.
However, later when The Wire called Minakshi Singh, a human rights activist who was present at the church the whole time, said the police “did not coordinate with them and they had come back to the church”.
Also read: In Kerala, a Street Food Festival Takes on Communal Forces
Members of the Bajrang Dal said residents in the area had issues with the construction of the church and had complained to the police about the same. They also alleged that the church was conducting “forced conversions”, though no evidence of this has been provided. Rohit, a Bajrang Dal activist, said that he lived in the area and was upset after “they [the church] assured us that they would leave from here but then on Sunday they did their programme”.
The church association has also alleged that one of their men was injured in the attack and later given first aid, while a woman who had come to worship at the church was “pushed on the chest by an unknown man”.
“I was standing outside the main gate when the men started abusing us. I requested them to leave but they did not listen. One man with a hammer started hitting the board and the gate of the church, so I asked him whether he had the manners to speak to a woman – after which he pushed me hard and abused me. They told me we have sold ourselves for Rs 2 lakh,” Kiran Sharma, who had come for prayers, told The Wire.
Tensions remain in the area, with many churchgoers who live nearby saying that right-wing groups want to intimidate them. “We are being harassed for following our faith,” Sharma added.
Nikita Jain is a journalist based in Delhi.