Authorities do nothing; High Court overturns quashing of ‘forcible conversion’ charge.
NEW DELHI, August 14 (Compass Direct News) – A group of about 15 Hindu extremists in the southern state of Karnataka on August 4 entered a jail and attacked a Christian businessman accused of compelling his wife to commit suicide.
“About 15 extremists of the Bajrang Dal [a militant Hindu organization], seemingly in connivance with jail authorities, managed to get into the Mardala district jail and brutally beat up Chetraven Rajan, owner of a company making sweets,” Albert Lael, organizing secretary of the All India Christian Council (AICC), told Compass. “No jail official came to save the victim.”
Lael said Hindu extremist groups had long been threatening Rajan, who has been involved in Christian and social work especially among Dalits.
The attack came to light only when Rajan’s relatives visited him in jail and noticed marks on his body.
“Despite the fact that Rajan had several injury marks and said he could identify the attackers, jail authorities refused to register a complaint against the miscreants, nor did they take him to a hospital for treatment,” added the AICC leader.
After state Christian leaders insisted on giving protection to the victim against further attacks, however, authorities shifted him to the Mysore jail.
“Rajan’s wife committed suicide a few months ago after he sacked his worker, identified only as Murugeshan, who supposedly had an affair with his wife,” Lael explained.
Rajan’s wife was said to have insisted that he allow Murugeshan to continue to work, but he refused.
