West Bengal Christian Families Attacked and Forced Into Rituals, Police File Case

Lakshmi says they came to her house first. Over three days during Durga Puja, three Christian families in Patlapur village in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district say they were beaten, humiliated and forced to perform the rituals of another faith, and the police case that followed is now a national political row.

The alleged attacks took place between 18 and 20 October 2026 in Patlapur village, under Chandrakona police station, according to the families' complaint and a letter from Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal. The families allege that a group linked to the Bajrang Dal entered their homes, demanded that they renounce Christianity, and assaulted them when they refused.

Everything in this article about what happened inside those homes is an allegation, not a court finding. The accused have not been tried, the investigation is ongoing, and this report attributes each claim to the families, their complaint, or the political letter citing it.

According to The Wire, which interviewed the families, Lakshmi said one of the accused struck her on the head so severely that she lost consciousness, and that women were beaten, their clothes torn, and some stripped to the point of partial nudity. A 15-year-old girl was allegedly strangled and threatened with abduction and rape, Venugopal's letter states.

They took us there against our will and forced us to offer anjali during the puja.

Lakshmi gave that account of 19 October, when she, her husband Tapan, and neighbours Saraswati Mondal and Gopal Mondal were allegedly taken to a Durga Puja pandal in the neighbouring village of Dingal and forced, in front of onlookers, to offer anjali and undergo a so-called "purification" ritual. The families say they were threatened with being burnt alive if they approached the police.

Patlapur Attack: A Complaint, Then an FIR Naming 13 People

The families say a complaint made to police on the first day did not lead to effective action. An FIR naming 13 individuals was registered only on the night of 20 October, after a lawyer intervened on their behalf, acording to Venugopal's letter and The Wire's reporting.

The reported charges include attempt to murder, criminal trespass, assault with intent to disrobe, criminal intimidation, outraging the modesty of women, and theft. A senior police officer told the Press Trust of India that nine members of the three families had complained of being threatened and assaulted on 18 and 19 October and forced to participate in religious rituals against their wishes.

On 21 October, Paschim Medinipur superintendent of police Papiya Sultana confirmed to The Wire that an FIR had been registered, saying police would provide security to the families and investigate, with appropriate action to follow. Police also deployed personnel near the families' homes to prevent further trouble.

No arrests had been reported as of the evening of 24 October, according to News9. The latest status of arrests and the investigation beyond that date could not be independently confirmed at the time of writing, and this article does not claim otherwise.

Venugopal Letter: Congress Demands Immediate Arrests

On 24 October, Venugopal wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, with a copy to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused and action against organisations and individuals who intimidate people over their faith. He described the incident as deeply disturbing and said forcing any person under threat of violence to perform another faith's rituals is an assault on the Constitution itself.

Venugopal also argued the incident was not isolated, citing civil society documentation of at least 60 incidents targeting Christians across 13 districts of West Bengal between 13 May and 20 September 2026. That wider claim comes from civil society documentation cited in his letter, not from a court or police record, and it is reported here as his claim.

Readers following attacks on Christians in India can see related coverage in the arrest over a threat video targeting Christians in Enugu and Jos, in the persecution report finding conditions worsened in 55 percent of countries surveyed, and in the report of a pastor in chains facing an execution threat as his family paid ransom.

For now, the families of Patlapur wait under police protection, the 13 named accused remain unarrested as far as the latest reporting confirms, and a letter to the Home Minister has turned a village lane in Paschim Medinipur into a test of whether an FIR becomes an arrest.

Will the investigation produce charges that stand up in court, and will the next Durga Puja pass in Patlapur without another family being marched to a pandal against its will? The answers will come from the police file, not from the headlines, and the families are still waiting for the first one.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.