Cops arrest man in Majuli church ‘vandalism’ case

GUWAHATI: Police have arrested one person who is believed to be part of a group of unidentified miscreants who had on Monday afternoon allegedly vandalised the signboard of a temporary church at Raidongoni village under Jengraimukh in Upper Assam river island of Majuli.
Official sources told The Shillong Times on Tuesday that Jiten Nath, a resident of the area, has been arrested on the basis of an FIR lodged by the owner of the church, Prasanta Payeng, at Jengraimukh police station immediately after the incident that occurred around 1pm.
Police officials rushed to the spot to take control of the situation and execute action. The church, located on the premises of his residence, is primarily made of bamboo.
Payeng, according to sources, is the lone Christian resident in the entire village and it is suspected by people in the area that the mob had come to his residence to persuade him to convert to Hinduism.
However, the police are investigating the case and trying to find out who else was involved in the act.
Majuli, which is one of the largest river islands in the world housing several Vaishnavite xatras (places of worship) and is also Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal’s home constituency, has a sizeable Mising population, a section of whom follow Christianity.
The sources however denied that any religious group or leader was involved in the attacked, as has been reported by a section of the media.