Karnataka: a man armed with a sword tries to attack a priest of the Church

In a shocking incident, a Christian priest from Belagavi in ​​Karnataka was pursued by a man armed with a sword on Saturday afternoon. The attempted attack on Father François de Saint-Joseph’s “workers’ church” on the evening of Saturday, December 12 was filmed by CCTV cameras and is widely shared on social networks. The attack comes as the Christian community statewide has come under threat in recent months by Hindu vigilantes disguised as fighting forced conversions. The incident took place at the residence of Father François, where the disbeliever was in hiding.

The perpetrator attempted to hit Father Francis with his sword as soon as he came out of the house to check on a continuously barking dog. Speaking with TNM, Fr. Francis confirmed that he did not know the abuser. “Usually my dog ​​is inside the house, but yesterday I noticed the dog barking from outside by someone who also left the main door open. I went out to get my dog ​​in and close the gate, that’s when a person standing outside with a sword was almost about to attack me. I managed to run away and escape and called for help. The man fled after failing to attack me, ”he said.

Saturday’s attack also comes with the state assembly’s winter session scheduled to begin in the city from Monday, where the controversial anti-conversion bill is due to be introduced. Previously, the police in this neighborhood had been criticized for asking the Christian community to avoid prayer meetings in private rooms to avoid facing attacks from marginal Hindu groups.

Read: Anti-conversion protests in Karnataka aren’t sporadic – BJP has a plan

Read: Hindutva activists in Belagavi lock pastor in community hall, claim forced conversion