Father Joshi George, parish priest in Juba village of Gajapati district, told UCA news on April 15 that they have “not heard from the police or any government officials” about any action taken regarding the March 22 incident.
Police assaulted George, his assistant Father Dayanand Nayak, and several women cleaning the parish church in what was described as a targeted attack on Christians.
George said a police team led by woman police officer Joshna Roy “singularly targeted Christians in the villages whereas the Hindus were let off.”
The priest said the state’s inaction, even after three weeks, supports the argument that it was a targeted move.
“Police have filed a false case of selling marijuana against a Catholic teacher of a government-run school in a neighboring village. He has been now suspended from his job, while a Hindu teacher detained by the police has been let off,” George said.
Police used a lathi — a long, heavy bamboo stick — to beat up people “and molested women belonging to a tribal community as they barged into” the church premises said a fact-finding team in an April 13 report titled “Police turned from Protectors to Perpetrators.”
“There is a palpable sense of fear, insecurity, and disbelief among the children, women, and two Catholic priests. This does not bode well for the administration,” the report stated.
“This is the first time in the recorded history of the state" that police targeted, beat, and paraded Catholic priests, the report said.
It also said the police raided a nearby village following reports of marijuana being cultivated. However, the police had to retreat after villagers became angry and confronted them.
Juba village serves as a gateway to neighboring villages. When the police arrived the next day, two Kondh tribal women, aged 20 and 18, and two girls below 12 years old were preparing for the next day’s Sunday service inside the Juba parish church.
Police violate law
Some 15 officers attacked the two women with sticks within the Church and then dragged them almost 300 meters to a police bus.
Seeing this, the girls sought help from the priests. The priests and their maid came out upon hearing the cries, and the police assaulted them too.
Both priests were beaten and dragged toward the police buses while being accused of converting people. At one point, Nayak fainted and fell but was still dragged onto the bus, the report said.
Police entered the church premises without a warrant, broke cleaning instruments, and desecrated the sacred space of the church, defiling a place of worship with the intent to insult the religion, the report said.
The report noted that the police violated laws meant to protect religion and religious freedom and committed punishable crimes.
The villagers informed the fact-finding team that the police had damaged their homes, as well as about 20 motorcycles and television sets inside the homes. They also reported that food supplies, including rice and eggs, had been thrown away.
Berhampur diocese, which oversees the parish, filed a complaint against the police at the local police station on April 8.
Bishop Sarat Chandra Nayak of Berhampur told UCA News on April 7 that their complaint was delayed because they were consulting legal experts, considering that the accused in the case are police in a state where the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi governs.
Christian leaders claim that attacks aimed at Christians have risen in the state since the BJP assumed power in June 2024.