01/12/2020 India (International Christian Concern) – According to a recent report by Morning Star News, human rights advocates in India claim that police in Uttar Pradesh state often work in tandem with Hindu extremists to harass and persecute religious minorities. As a result, Christians and Muslims face significant challenges and even threats at the hand of the very officers charged with protecting their religious freedom rights.

“The [Uttar Pradesh] police force is very different from the rest of India,” Dinanath Jaiswar, a volunteer with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) India, told Morning Star News. “They are very brash in their dealings with Muslim and Christian minorities, and there have been several cases of violence in police custody.”

“It has become a trend that a batch of Hindu extremists barge inside Christian homes and accuse them of proselytizing Hindus to Christianity,” Jaiswar explained to Morning Star News. “When Christians deny the accusations and restrain them from disrupting the prayers, they (the extremists) use the police to take the Christians into custody.”

“It does not take long for a police officer here to lose his temper and thrash a person in custody,” Jaiswar added.

According to ADF-India, more than 300 cases of mob violence against India’s Christian community have been documented in 2019. Of those incidents, police have prosecuted the perpetrators in only 40 cases. Instead of protecting these Christian victims, police often work in tandem with the Hindu extremists perpetrating the mob violence.

For interviews, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected].