NADIA, India — The headman of 12 villages in India’s Madhya Pradesh state, including Nadia village where two Christian women were raped May 28, has asked Christians to renounce their faith or leave the village, a local source said. Pandya Patel warned other villagers that if anyone spoke to the police about himself or about the rapists, they would be expelled from the village — regardless of their religious background.
Efforts to silence publicity over the rapes continued elsewhere. On June 5, the head of the Madhya Pradesh State Minorities Commission scolded a prominent member of the body for arranging a press conference in Bhopal to highlight the rapes. Commission Chairman Anwar Mohammed Khan said Indira Iyengar failed to get approval from the body before holding the press conference, which was interrupted by members of the Hindu extremist group Bajrang Dal warning her not to accuse them of attacking Christians. (TAB)
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