India

Basanti Residents Burn Priest Effigy, File Complaint After Church Vandalism

By Shiv Sahay Singh

A group of locals in Basanti, West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, burned an effigy of local Christian priests and filed a memorandum with the police station on Thursday, November 5, 2026. The incident follows a series of tensions that began on November 1 when a newly constructed church was vandalised by a mob claiming allegiance to a Hindutva outfit. The protest was organised by Adivasi Eilya Parishad, a local group that said Adivasis are being lured for conversion on promises of curing disease, which they argue should not be allowed.

The West Bengal chapter of the National Christian Council (NCC) issued a press statement saying that the effigy was set on fire at Chowmatha crossing in Basanti. The statement added that later in the evening, during the Friday prayer service, a group of approximately 20–25 people allegedly surrounded women attending the service. According to the complaints received, the women were forced to break their traditional conch-shell bangles (Shakha) and wipe off their vermilion (Sindoor).

Father Parimal Kanji, the priest‑in‑charge at Basanti, said the alleged perpetrators were outsiders and not local residents and confirmed that a written complaint had been submitted to the police. Arpan Rana, State General Secretary of the NCC, said Christian communities in West Bengal do not seek confrontation but justice, equal protection and the rule of law. “The Chief Minister is speaking about religious freedom, yet the practical experience of some minority communities raises serious questions about their safety and protection,” Mr. Rana said.

Herod Mullick, the founding State Secretary of Bangiya Chrisityo Pariseba, said that the government and administration’s silence has emboldened attackers, who have shifted from targeting small independent congregations to raiding older, established churches. “While the police are well aware of the situation and continue to accept written complaints, no legal action is mysteriously being taken against anyone, making the government’s ongoing silence both baffling and suspicious,” he said.

Basanti Police Station said an FIR has been registered in connection with the attack on the church and notices have been issued to some accused. Christian organisations note an increase in attacks on churches and Christian gatherings after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power. The U.S.–based research project India Hate Lab has documented at least 60 incidents of hate crimes and targeted attacks against Christians in West Bengal across 13 districts between May 13 and September 20 this year. Earlier this week, a public hearing of survivors of the mob attacks was held in Kolkata where people from several districts participated and shared their experience.