On May 21, a group of Nihangs allegedly attacked a congregation near Sikhpal Rana Ministries Church in the village Rajewal of district Amritsar. Two people were reportedly injured in the attack. The police said in a statement that the motive and identity of the attackers were unknown and it was unclear if they were Nihangs or miscreants dressed in Nihang attire. The attackers were armed with swords and other sharp weapons.
Some people attacked on a church in #Amritsar and vandalized vehicles with sticks. SSP Amritsar Rural, Satinderjeet singh said we are registering a case and we will take strict action against the people who has done this. pic.twitter.com/W5h7VXvjlx
— Nikhil Choudhary (@NikhilCh_) May 21, 2023
The Nihangs raised slogans against the church and accused them of forced conversions. Some eyewitnesses claimed that the Nihangs entered the church and vandalised it. They further claimed the Nihangs tore Bible which was kept in the church. Following the attack, the accused fled the scene. While leaving the area, they vandalised vehicles parked outside the church.
In response to the attack, the congregation protested for two hours at Jandiala Guru-Tarn Taran road and blocked the traffic. A case has been registered against unidentified persons. Amritsar Rural SSP Satinder Singh, Superintendent of Police (SP) Jugraj Singh and police personnel from the nearby police station arrived at the scene to control the law and order situation. SSP Singh said in a statement that FIR has been registered in the matter and an investigation was underway.
As per the Live Hindustan report, when the Nihangs attacked, the church supporters retaliated by pelting stones at them. Nihang groups have denied any involvement in the attack. They raised objections over using Nihang attire during such attacks.
Meanwhile, Christian groups have said they would take the matter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. They demanded strict action against the attackers. The Christian groups have asked the administration and police to file FIR under Sections 295A and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and deal with the matter the way the police deal with the sacrilege of Shri Guru Granth Sahib.
Indian Express quoted an unnamed police source saying the motive behind the attack was yet to be investigated. He said, “The motive behind the attack and the identity of the assailants are yet to be fully ascertained. The police and authorities are actively investigating the matter to bring the culprits to justice and to maintain communal harmony in the area.”
Punjab Minority Commission Subhash Thoba also reached the village to take stock of the situation with his team. He said in a statement that the eyewitnesses informed him there were around 25 Nihangs who attacked the congregation. They gathered outside the church on Sunday and accused them of forced conversion.
Nihang groups and SGPC have accused Christian organisations in Punjab of forced conversions. In 2021, SGPC launched a door-to-door campaign to put a stop to the rampant conversions across the state. Furthermore, there has been a spike in the attacks on churches in Punjab in view of the reports of mass conversions during congregations. In August 2022, OpIndia reported a similar incident in Daduana village of Amritsar where Nihangs disrupted a Christian program over allegations of forced conversions.
