Kailali- Pastor Janmajya Bhattarai has been arrested on the false charge of preaching religion on the eve of Christmas.
Pastor Bhattarai of Lamki Community Church in Lamkichuha Municipality, Kailali was arrested by the police from his residence at around 7 am on Tuesday.
Pastor Bhattarai is accused of trying to convert people by distributing educational materials, clothes, and bags on the occasion of Christmas. Religious organizations including the local church, Nagar Christian Society, Lamkichuha Nagar Jawan Samiti, Nepal National Christian Society have protested against his arrest.
Various Christian organizations have issued a joint statement today regarding the arrest of the pastor, collectively protesting and denying the incident, saying, ‘For a long time, we have been providing educational materials and other assistance to underprivileged children in the Lamkichuha area on the occasion of Christmas, the festival of gifts, on the formal correspondence and request of educational institutions. The sole purpose of this work is to help the economically weaker sections of the society. However, portraying it as religious propaganda is wrong and misleading.
The statement said, “The program of distributing bags, clothes, and other educational materials does not have the purpose of promoting any kind of religious opinion or converting faith. These programs are conducted solely with the purpose of serving humanity. Nepal is a secular country. We respect the freedom of all religions. We are not committed to promoting any particular religion in a sensitive place like a school.”
Pastor Chandra Bahadur Thapa, President of the Nepal National Christian Society, said that the allegations made against local pastor Janmajya Bhattarai are completely false and baseless. No religious sermons or Bibles were preached during the educational material distribution program. We urge all responsible citizens to discourage any activities that hurt religious sentiments and spread hatred among communities.
Pastor Sandeep Sarki, President of Lamkichuha Nagar Jawan Sangati, has appealed for the publication of factual and evidence-based news, saying that such false news can create hatred between different religious communities in the society and is harmful to the harmony of our multicultural society.
He said that if anyone tries to spread any kind of religious hatred by misinterpreting our program, we are ready to cooperate with the concerned authorities legally and has also called on all of us to develop a sense of reconciliation, tolerance, and mutual respect.
Niroj Tolange, General Secretary of the Christian Journalist Fellowship Nepal and an activist for religious freedom, has protested, saying that the arrest of the pastor on Christmas Eve is a mockery of secularism. He has demanded the immediate release of Pastor Janmajya Bhattarai and has urged the concerned authorities not to terrorize the minority religious community and not to disrupt religious harmony.
