By Sujata Jena
Jaleswar, August 7, 2025: A mob of Bajrang Dal activists has assaulted two Catholic priests, two nuns and a catechist at a mission state of Balasore diocese in Odisha, an eastern Indian state.
The Hindu radical outfit accused the Catholic group of indulging in religious conversion.
The incident occurred on August 6 at Gangadhar mission station of Jaleswar parish where a requiem Mass marking the second death anniversary of two local Catholic men was celebrated by parish priest Father Lijo Nirappel and Father V Jojo of neighboring Joda parish.
Two nuns and a catechist accompanied the priests to the mission state at around 5 pm.
After the Mass and a fellowship meal, the villagers, all farmers, left for their homes at around 9 pm.
Father Nirappel said some 70 men lay in wait for the visitors at a narrow-forested stretch of road, hardly half a km away from the mission station.
“They first targeted our catechist who was on a motorcycle. They beat him mercilessly, dismantled his bike, drained the fuel, and threw it aside.”
The attackers then stopped the priests’ vehicle.
“They physically attacked us—pushing, pulling, and beating us badly. They punched us, snatched our mobile phones, and kept shouting that we were trying to make them Americans—converting them by force,” Father Nirappel said. He said the attackers said, “The BJD days are over, now it’s BJP’s rule—you cannot make Christians anymore.”
BJD, or the Biju Janata Dal (Biju People’s Party), is a regional party that had ruled Odisha during 2000-2024
The women from the mission station pleaded with the attackers to spare the visiting team that was invited to a prayer service.
The priests alleged that the group hurled communal slurs and accused them of conversions in front of media persons who had accompanied the Bajrang Dal members.
“It was a planned ambush,” Father Nirappel asserted. “They brought their own media to fabricate a narrative.”
About 45 minutes into the ordeal, a team of police officers—including a female constable and two male officers—arrived on the scene.
However, even in the presence of the police, the mob continued its tirade. Father Nirappel informed the police that their mobile phones had been forcibly taken by the assailants, but no one in the mob admitted to having them or returned them.
“The police then told the mob they would take us to the station for inquiry, but in reality, they were just rescuing us from further violence.”
Father Nirappel, former director of Balasore Social Service Society, the social wing of the diocese, expressed deep anguish over the incident.
“I never imagined something like this could happen in the Jaleswar area. We were simply performing a prayer service for grieving families. We were attacked and humiliated on baseless allegations,” he said.
He lamented the growing trend of vilifying Christians with fabricated charges of forced conversions. “Even media houses are complicit,” he alleged. “They don’t verify facts—they just amplify what the mob says. That false narrative must be replaced with the truth.”
Father Nirappel also confirmed that no First Information Report had been registered until August morning. He said they were awaiting the visit of their Bishop Varghese Thottamkara.
Father Jojo, the visiting priest, sounded shocked. “I had come simply to offer a prayer service. I never imagined such hostility for doing something so peaceful and sacred,” he said.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the local Christians and raised serious concerns over rising religious intolerance and mob violence in Odisha.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India condemned the attack on the priests and nuns. The conference also expressed concern over the increasing attacks against minority communities in BJP-ruled India.
The attack took place within two weeks after the arrest of two nuns from Kerala in Chhattisgarh, Odisha’s northwestern neighbor, over alleged human trafficking and forced religious conversion. Sisters Preethy Mary and Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate were released from Durg jail on August 2 after a special NIA court granted them bail holding that the case was based on mere suspicion.
The arrest of the nuns sparked off a political slugfest with the Congress and CPI(M) criticising the police action and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai accusing them of politicizing the issue.
Three young women from Narayanpur, who were allegedly being trafficked, submitted a complaint at the office of the Superintendent of Police seeking to register an FIR against Bajrang Dal activists for allegedly assaulting them and forcing them to give false statements against the nuns.
On the one side, the members of CBCI/CCBI write “Open Letters” to the PM when there is an attack on churches, priests and nuns. On the other side, they invite the PM giving red carpet welcome and also attend the Christmas party hosted by PM and shower praises on him. A GREAT IRONY INDEED!
I share the deep concern expressed here, but I believe this moment calls for both urgency and clarity. The first priority in any attack, whether on priests, nuns, or lay people, must be to follow due legal process: filing an FIR, documenting evidence, and ensuring witnesses are protected. Without this, the system easily erases our grievances. Speaking the truth need not be hostile, but it must be uncompromising.
I am surprised at Father Nirappel’s confirmation that no First Information Report (FIR) had been registered and his team were awaiting the visit of their Bishop Varghese Thottamkara! First things must be done first. Sr Sujata Jena, a practising legal exponent herself, must make the churches of Orissa and lay persons aware of such steps to be taken in case of such attacks. Again I come back to the old proposal – teaching of self-defence to our flock in an unobtrusive manner.
Even as Bajrang Dal members are attacking priests and nuns, some Bishops are eager to make friendship with BJP and government. They may be concerned about the flow of foreign money. Or the profit making schools and institutions.
Also there are any BJP leaders are ministers who were educated in Catholic schools. Why they are silent?
You have touched a raw nerve friend! Yes our bishops will never dare to speak out against attacks on Christians, including priests and nuns, who to them are `collateral damage.’ If our bishops make any hullabaloo, then yes institutional cash cows will in all likelihood be choked and the taps will turn dry. Regarding BJP leaders who studied in church-run schools/colleges/universities, definitely there are several. But they used our facilities to the full. Our heads of institutions also used them (their political and other clouts) to the full! Please tell me, other than Bangalore’s Archbishop Peter Machado, which prelate has spoken out against government’s injustice and apathy? Increasingly our prelates are becoming more of suave career politicians than leading by pastoral example as Pope Francis so often reminded them to exemplify.