Incidents of right-wing atrocities targeting the Christian community as Christmas nears have been reported in several states across the country, and in Madhya Pradesh, Hindutva groups stormed a church and manhandled a visually impaired woman, which was caught on video, alleging that church authorities were indulging in coerced conversions of visually impaired children, a claim rejected by the police authorities.
The incident occurred on Monday at a church located behind Hawabagh Women’s College in Jabalpur, where members of several right-wing organisations, accompanied by BJP district vice-president Anju Bhargava, entered the premises following allegations of forced religious conversion involving visually impaired students brought there for a Christmas-related outreach programme, according to The Indian Express.
What began as accusations soon escalated into a confrontation inside the church, during which Bhargava was seen engaging in a physical altercation with a visually impaired woman, scenes of which were recorded on mobile phones and widely circulated on social media.
The footage shows Bhargava confronting the seated woman, during which physical contact was made, prompting the woman to retaliate by holding Bhargava’s arm and repeatedly gesturing for her not to touch her, as others present attempted to intervene amid rising tensions. Police later arrived at the scene, restored order, and dispersed the gathering, after which the visually impaired students were sent back to their government-run hostel.
According to police officials, the students had been invited for a meal and prayers as part of charitable activities associated with Christmas, and initial statements recorded from them indicated that no attempt had been made to forcibly convert them.
Police authorities stated that there was no evidence, at this stage, to substantiate allegations of coercion or illegal religious conversion, though they confirmed that statements were being formally documented as part of the inquiry.
Despite the police position, right-wing organisations lodged a complaint questioning how students from a government hostel were taken to a religious site without official permission, while also alleging that exclusively Christian prayers were conducted and non-vegetarian food was served at the venue.
Bhargava later defended her presence at the church, stating that she had acted on information received from local activists regarding alleged irregularities in the programme and claims that some visually impaired women wished to leave, while also asserting that she herself had been assaulted during the confrontation.
The Jabalpur incident marked the second such episode within a span of two days, as a prayer service at a church in the Madhotal area descended into chaos on Sunday morning after members of a right-wing organisation entered the premises during worship.
The disturbance reportedly escalated into violence, with chairs thrown and slogans raised, following which police detained several youths for creating a public disturbance, while investigators began examining accounts from both worshippers and the intervening group to establish the sequence of events.