Church attacked in West Bengal during inauguration ceremony

A member of the church said that at least 20 of them were attacked in the incident. Image used for representation | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStock

A group of men allegedly attacked a new church at Narayantala of South 24 Parganas’ Basanti area during the inauguration ceremony at the establishment on Sunday (November 1, 2026). In an initial statement, police have said that the attack looks like an internal feud between two Christian groups. 

A police complaint has been filed at the Basanti Police Station by the Bangiya Christiya Pariseba (BCP), an interfaith forum representing Christians in West Bengal. Police reached the spot after the complaint was filed. 

According to a local resident and member of the new church, they came under attack during the inauguration prayers. “Some miscreants entered while we were praying and raised slogans. Many of us were physically attacked and suffered injuries,” Ramen Naskar, a member of the church, told mediapersons. He also alleged that women were manhandled. 

Another member of the church said that at least 20 of them were attacked in the incident. They alleged that even priests were not spared and came under attack during the ceremony. 

Local police from the Basanti Police Station have said that, prima facie, it looked like an internal feud between two Christian groups in the area, but that they will investigate further and offer a more detailed statement on the issue. 

Herod Mullick, the founder of BCP, said that this is an unprecedented incident where miscreants have beaten up multiple priests during an inauguration ceremony. 

“Organised groups take the law into their own hands to target peaceful minorities, this is very concerning,” Mr Mullick added. 

Series of attacks 

This comes 10 days after three members of a Christian family were allegedly forced to perform various rituals to denounce Christianity and return to Hinduism. Police filed an FIR after a woman from the family filed a police complaint. Thirteen people have been named in the FIR, but no arrests have been made till now. 

In the past few months, since the regime change in the State, there have been several allegations of attacks on Christian establishments, including one other attack in South 24 Pargana district’s Sonarpur area. 

Published - November 02, 2026 10:00 am IST