Dhamatari (Chattisgarh), SVM News, 25 December, 2006 (edited):
Pastor James Ram and another 10 members of the Church of God were arrested on charges of ‘illegal conversion’ by Chattisgarh Police on 24th of December at Dhamatari, which is about 40 miles from Raipur, the capital city of Chattisgarh State in India.
A group of the BJP and the Bajrangdal accused the pastor and other Christian believers of illegal conversion, and prompted the police to arrest them.
The pastor was released later at about 10.30 on the night of 24th, and the rest of the detainees released only on 25th, Christmas Day, at about 6.30 in the evening.
Before making claims of illegal convesion, a group of Hindu radicals attacked Pastor James Ram and about 20 Church of God members during Christmas Eve celebrations. The congregants were beaten up purportedly for singing carols and distributing Christian literature.
One of the church members reported hearing loss after being beated. The hand of the Bible School student was fractured in the attack. Five of the believers were injured.
Pastor James Ram was a Hindu Brahmin, originally from Nepal, who converted to Christianity about 30 years ago. Previously he was known as Vishnu Ram. His wife belonged to an ancient Christian family of the Pathanamthitta District in Kerala. He was one of the team members of the IMAM Gospel Crusade, lead by Pastor Paul Ciniraj of the Salem Voice Ministries to spread the redeeming love of Jesus Christ among Muslims and the Hindus.
The Christian Ministers of the Churches in India (CMCI) and the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) condemned the attack and the arrest of Pastor James Ram and the believers.
Pastor Paul Ciniraj, Director,
Salem Voice Ministries
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(This reported edited for publication on mensnewsdaily.com)
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