Author: Correspondent
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: April 9, 2007
URL: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070409/asp/bengal/story_7624192.asp
[Note from the Hindu Vivek Kendra: There is
no mention about why the jeep was attacked or why there was an attempt to
snatch the arrested persons.]
A pastor, a school student and two others
were arrested early today in a police raid on a church in Madhupur near the
Kalaikunda airbase.
Pastor Badal Soren, Rampada Mandy, Ram Hansda
and Lal Murmu - a Class IX boy - were picked up from the church, about 140
km from Calcutta where they had come to attend Easter celebrations.
The four have been charged with attacking
a police jeep and trying to snatch a gang of five from custody while they
were being taken to the Midnapore court from the Kalaikunda outpost on April
6.
"All four, including our pastor, came
to attend the celebrations. But the police raided the church around 1.10 am
today and arrested them. They also abused our men," alleged Reverend
Barun Chakraborty.
Kharagpur subdivisional police officer Subrata
Ganguly said the four were picked up from the church gates.
He said the police acted on a tip-off that
they were hiding in the church. "Our men took them into custody when
they came out of the church after their names were called out."
He added that 28 people have been held from
various places in connection with Friday's snatching bid. Pastor Soren was
released after a preliminary probe suggested that he was not involved.
Herod Mullick, secretary of the Bangiya Christiyo
Pariseba, condemned the "police high-handedness". "They shouldn't
have raided the church. I have lodged a complaint with the south Bengal inspector-general,"
he said.
