On 25 February, a Christian pastor was allegedly tied to the divider of a road and thrashed by a mob in south Delhi's Fatehpur Beri over suspicions of conducting forced religious conversions. The Delhi Police has filed an FIR against unknown persons in the matter.
Additional DCP (south) Mandava Harsha Vardhan told The Quint that an FIR under Sections 365 (kidnapping), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC has been registered. He said that an investigation was on, and no arrests had been made so far.
The pastor has been identified as 35-year-old Kelom Tete, a resident of south Delhi's Asola extension.
"I submitted a written complaint at the Maidan Garhi police station on 27 February. I visited the National Commission for Minority on 2 March and submitted a letter to the commissioner via them as well," the pastor said.
'Was Forced To Chant Jai Shri Ram, Called Bangladeshi'
Tete alleged that on 25 February, as he came out of a friend's house in Bhatti Mines, he was surrounded by three people who "abused me, physically harassed me, and forced me to chant Jai Shree Ram." Tete claimed that when he resisted, the three men beat him up.
"They also abused me and used slurs such as junglee, and called me a Bangladeshi. They accused me of doing forced conversions, which is not true," he alleged. Tete belongs to a Scheduled Tribe community from Jharkhand.
'Mob of 100 People Beat Me Up With Intention to Kill'
In his letter to the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Tete claimed that "a mob of 100 people led by one Sagar Tanwar joined the attackers and brutally beat me up with the intention to kill me."
After this, Tete claimed he was forced to sit inside a car, was told that he was being taken to a police station, and was accused of forceful conversion. Instead, he was taken to Peepal Chowk in Asola, where he was allegedly tied to a divider's railing, said Tete.
"They tied me up, beat me up more, and again forced me to chant Jai Shree Ram. I told them to stop but they didn't listen to me. Many people gathered to watch but not a single person came forward to help me," he alleged. He also claimed that the assaulters "invited onlookers to come slap me."
Tete said that his assaulters snatched his bag, his mobile phone, some documents, and the Bible.
In the letter to the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Tete wrote that after an hour of being tied up, he managed to free himself by "breaking the plastic ropes that were used to tie his hands, and got a chance to run away from the mob to save his life from getting lynched."
"I reached home and informed my family members about this. I went to the police station on 27 February and submitted a complaint, they also sent me for a medical check-up and an MLC was prepared. I had received some injuries," said Tete.
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