Bhubaneswar: More than two weeks after a pastor was allegedly assaulted and publicly humiliated over accusations of forced religious conversion in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, police on Wednesday detained four people for questioning.
Dhenkanal Superintendent of Police Abhinav Sonkar said the suspects were being interrogated and that further investigation is underway, but declined to share additional details.
In a complaint submitted to the SP on January 13, the pastor’s wife accused local police of inaction following the January 4 incident. She alleged that a mob of 15–20 people attacked her husband, smeared sindoor on his face, garlanded him with footwear and paraded him through the village. The group also allegedly forced him to drink drain water and bow before a temple against his will while accusing him of involvement in forced conversions.
According to the complaint, the pastor had visited a local resident’s house on January 4 after being invited to pray for the person’s good health. During the prayer meeting, the mob allegedly arrived armed with sticks, assaulted him and subjected him to public humiliation. The wife maintained that the allegations of forced conversion were baseless and claimed that police reached the spot much later.
She further told authorities that although a complaint was lodged at Parjang police station on the day of the incident, no action was taken for several days, prompting her to approach the SP. An FIR was eventually registered on January 13.
The incident has triggered political reactions. The Congress party described the episode as “a new low” and claimed that the victim was forced to eat cow dung, a charge denied by SP Sonkar, who said there was no such allegation.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) also condemned the incident, calling it unfortunate. Party spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said such acts were not reflective of Odia Asmita and warned that incidents like this tarnish Odisha’s image and amount to serious human rights violations. He urged the state government to act swiftly.
Responding to the criticism, BJP state media in-charge Sujit Das accused opposition parties of politicising the matter. He said law enforcement agencies would act in accordance with the law and should be allowed to carry out their duties without political pressure.
The Rashtriya Christian Morcha’s Odisha unit also demanded strict action against those responsible. Its general secretary, Bishop Pallav Lima, alleged that Christians were increasingly being targeted on false accusations of conversion and that even prayer services were being misrepresented as conversion activities.
