NEW DELHI, INDIA (ANS) — Compass Direct News (CDN) is reporting that Hindu extremists beat a pastor and evangelist unconscious in front of his sons earlier this month in Madhya Pradesh state.

Ramesh Devda, 30, from Dhadhniya, Meghnagar district, said he was attacked on Monday, April 4, 2011, after leading a prayer meeting in Chikklia village.

“He said he was on his way to Bhajidongra, at the border of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat states, by motorcycle with his two sons, ages 10 and 8, to lead another prayer meeting,” said the CDN story. “When he reached Raseda village, he said, suddenly three people on two motorcycles blocked his way, forced him to stop and knocked his motorcycle over.”

The pastor then explained, “They were carrying big bamboo sticks and clubs. They started beating me, and then they called and three more men came and started to attack me.”

He said he was thankful that is sons were spared from beating, though his older son sustained a leg injury in the course of the attack. The Hindu extremists “were angry at me and were threatening to kill me and were warning me not to come to their area again,” he said.

CDN concluded its story by saying that Pastor Devda leads congregations in Chikklia, Bhajidongra and Dhadhniya villages.

“The people who beat me up do belong to a Hindu fundamentalist outfit, and some believers in Chikklia know them,” he said. “I can recognize them if I see them again.

ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA (ANS) – A church under construction in Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh, was demolished at around 9:00 AM on Sunday, May 23, 2010 by a group of Hindu radicals, who then placed in what was left of the building, an idol of Hindu god Hanuman.

According to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), the church was destroyed by members of Rashtriya Swayam Sevaks (RSS), a Hindu radical group, despite the fact that the believers had secured all the necessary permits to build their house of worship in that place.

“They didn’t like the building being put up in that spot and so they decided to attack and then destroy it and then put up an idol of a Hindu God,” said a spokesperson who had been following the situation.

Pastor Vijay, the minister of the church, along with a few believers approached the nearest police station for help, but ANS has been told that the police allegedly refused to file a complaint against the Hindu radicals.

The Global Council of Indian Christians has demanded that the Andhra Pradesh State Chief Minister, Rosiah, extend protection for churches and Christians in the state.

NEW DELHI, INDIA (ANS) — The almost daily attacks against Indian Christians by Hindi radicals, are continuing at an alarming pace.

The latest shocking incident took place on Thursday, March 25, 2010, when a group of radicals viciously attacked a pastor and his companion in Ghaziabad, New Delhi.

According to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), Pastor Gladwin Masih, aged about 40, along with his companion Mr. Pritam, had gone to a prayer meeting in an area of New Delhi when, at about 9 pm, as the prayer meeting was still going on, three members belonging to Rashtriya Swayam Sevaks (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization, came and sat inside the hall where the prayer meeting was being held.

Then, in the middle of the gathering, they sent messages for other members to join them and when they arrived, they threatened the believers.

After the prayer meeting had ended and the pastor and his companion were returning to their homes in Seema Puri, New Delhi, the same group which by now had grown to around 25 Hindu radicals, attacked them with cricket stumps and hockey sticks.

During the brutal attack, Pastor Gladwin sustained bruises all over his body and was bleeding from the nose and Mr. Pritam sustained a right hand finger fracture.

After the beating, Pastor Gladwin called the police on their helpline number and a police escort rushed to the spot, but by the time they arrived, the attackers had fled.

The victims then went to the nearest police station and at 9:30 pm gave a verbal complaint, but according to reports, none of the officers on duty recorded their complaint.

So in the afternoon of next day, a delegation of different pastors and Christian leaders submitted a written complaint against the members of the RSS. Finally their complaint was registered against the main person and at least 20 other members of RSS.

However, ANS has learned that no action has been recorded yet against the attackers.

NORTH INDIA (ANS) – A group of about large mob of around 40 anti-Christian Hindu militants stormed a training center for pastors.

The incident occurred on Sunday in the North Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

According to a news release from Empart, the church-planting organization that runs the center, Prebhu, a center leader, was punched and kicked as he screamed for mercy. Many students were brutally beaten and seriously injured.

According to Empart, while attacking students, the Hindu militants interrogated them about center leadership. Students refused to reveal any names or addresses, so the Hindus reportedly burned all of the center’s teaching tools. They included Bibles and (Christian) literature.

Empart said that students tried in vain to protect their Bibles and notebooks. Just days before they were due to graduate, all the notes they had made throughout the year were gone. Personal belongings were also added to the fire. Clothes purchased for the graduation were also burned.

According to Empart, the militants then discovered the center store room – where gospel literature and Bibles are kept to supply the entire region. Empart said the organization had also stored thousands of book kits to be distributed at the graduation and a pastor’s conference. Empart said students were forced to watch these precious gifts burn, under the threat that they would be thrown into the fire if they protested.

Empart said when center leaders took the injured students to the local government hospital they refused to treat them for fear the hospital may be attacked. Desperate for treatment, many of them had to find public transportation to get to hospitals in surrounding towns.

Prebhu, Empart said, is in intensive care. The rest of the students and local leaders are all in hiding due to further threats of violence.

Adding insult to injury, Empart said, mob leaders then defaced an Indian flag by painting a red cross on it- a criminal act in India. Calling the police, they reported that they found a group of Christians who had defaced the Indian flag and asked the police to come and arrest them.

Empart said local authorities have arrested three center students for questioning. They are still under police custody.

Biju, the Training Centre Coordinator, escaped amidst the chaos and is still in hiding. According to Empart, his wife and children are being cared for in a safe location but the remaining students at the center are living in fear of another attack.

Speaking with Empart Founder and Director Jossy Chacko, Biju said in the news release, “The enemy will try to stop us making disciples and training leaders, but he cannot and will not stop God’s Kingdom expanding. We will not stop, no matter what happens.”

Empart said a mission team from Australia had planned to be at the center graduation ceremony this week, but had to abandon their plans after hearing of the attack. The team is in a secure location, but they are all disappointed they cannot be there to support the students throughout their difficulties.

Empart asked that those concerned pray for everyone affected by the attack.

Empart is an international non-profit church planting organization assisting unreached communities in Asia by training local people to start churches in their local communities.

Donations to help restore the training center and provide teaching resources can be made through Empart at www.empart.org

KARNATAKA, INDIA (ANS) – An Indian pastor was brutally attacked by a group of Hindu radicals on Monday, March 8, 2010 at Mysore in Karnataka State.

According to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), the incident took place at around 11:30 AM as Pastor Ravi Chandran (30) was conducting a prayer meeting at a nearby believer’s house.

The source said that a group of about 10-15 Hindu radicals forcefully entered the house and began to abuse the pastor and the believers gathered there.

The report said that they hit the pastor with glass bottles, as well as kicking and punching him mercilessly, after which they disappeared from the venue.

According to the news source, Pastor Ravi, who is married to Daisy (28) and with a daughter and son, sustained severe leg injury and head swelling during the attack and believers take him to a nearby government hospital where he was admitted.

Pastor Ravi ministers with the Gospel in Action fellowship organization.

MYSORE, INDIA – A group of 300 Hindi radicals entered the homes of Christian believers in a slum located in Mysore, Karnataka state on February 17, 2010, and assaulted them for their faith in Christ.C

According to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), the attack took place at around 7:00 pm when the radicals belonging to Bajrang Dal, a right-wing Hindu organization which is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), made their way to the location of 22 Christian houses in a slum.

The CCIC report said that they indiscriminately attacked and beat up men, women and children, shouting slogans “Jai Hanuman” (Hail, Lord Hanuman) as they did. They also alleged that the saffron-clad radicals “misbehaved with the women engaged in the household chores and hit them with stones and beat them with wooden clubs.”

The source said the attackers then compelled some of them to sign affidavits, to admit that they were being “forcibly converted” to Christianity. However, the vehement refusal of most of the determined Christian slum dwellers infuriated the Bajrang Dal activists and a Christian believer called Gopal lost four teeth and was admitted to the government hospital Internal Care Unit for treatment.

The source said that the policemen arrived at around 10 pm and then took the Christian victims to the police station and allegedly repeatedly threatening them of “dire consequences if they continued to hold on to their faith in Christ.”

To make matters worse, the story also alleged that the injured when then taken to a local hospital, but “were denied proper medical aid by the hospital authorities.”

CHHATTISGARH, INDIA (ANS) — A group of 30 radical Hindus belonging to Shiva Sena (Army of Shiva) and Bajrang Dal, a right-wing Hindu organization which is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), attacked a prayer meeting at Korba in Chhattisgarh on Friday, January 22, 2010, injuring three pastors and a dozen believers.

According the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), an advocacy group, the attack took place at about 8.30 PM as the prayer meeting progressed.

The source said that when the Hindu radicals barged into the meeting premises, the organizers requested them not to disturb the prayer service, but they manhandled them and then proceeded to attack both pastors and participants.

It was also reported that the Hindu radicals started shouting “Jai Shri Ram!” (Hail Shri Ram) and then beat up the Christians with sticks, verbally insulting them, and accusing them of “forcibly” converting Hindus to Christianity.

It was reported that at least a dozen members, including the pastors, sustained injuries. The source said that the mob damaged chairs and took away a laptop computer, two mobile phones, digital cameras and cash from the participants as they made their way out.

But in yet another head-scratching decision in India, instead of arresting the attackers, the police registered a complaint against three pastors who were beaten up and are holding them in Bilaspur Central Jail

GCIC has requested for prayers for the safety of the pastors “illegally imprisoned for their faith in Christ.”

WASHINGTON D.C. (ANS) – Hindu extremists recently attacked a Christian prayer meeting in Udaipur, Rajastha (India), leaving 11 Christians with serious injuries.

International Christian Concern (ICC), a human rights group, reported in a news release that on Jan. 17 at about 11 PM local time, members of Rashtriya Swayamsavak Sangh (a Hindu extremist group) stormed the Faith Calvary Church (FCC) prayer meeting armed with machetes, axes and sticks. They beat Pastor Surajth Bhagari and church members.

The Director and Founder of FCC, Dr. T.M. Omkar, told ICC that the Christians suffered broken legs, arms and injuries to their heads. The victims were taken to a nearby government hospital where they were only partially treated.

“We felt that the hospital administration was pressured by some group who are keen to create trouble for the Christians. We are taking the matter to the court,” ICC reported Omkar said

ICC said the Christians filed a police complaint on the day of the attacks, but no First Information Report (a report written by the police when they investigate a crime) was registered.

The complaint was again filed on Jan. 19, and this time the First Information Report was registered by Gordhan Bilas Police Station. An officer from the police station told ICC that his office will protect the Christians from further attacks.

ICC said police arrested six Hindu extremists under the Indian Penal Code for rioting, being armed with deadly weapons, house trespass and other issues.

ICC said the alleged perpetrators bonded out from jail the same day.

ICC’s Regional Manger for Africa and South Asia, Jonathan Racho said in a news release, “We condemn the attacks on Faith Calvary Church by Hindu radicals. We urge Indian officials to take protective measures against the widespread attacks on Christian minorities by Hindu radicals.”

ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide.

ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA (ANS) – A group of Hindu radicals barged into a prayer service held in a church in Jalliguda, which is located in Hyderabad City, Andhra Pradesh state, India and mercilessly beat the pastor and the attendees at a meeting in on Sunday, January 10, 2010.

According to the Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), an advocacy group, they reported that on January 10, at around 9:00 am, approximately 50 members belonging to the Hindu radical groups, Rashtriya Swayam Sevaks (RSS) and Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP), barged inside the prayer hall and beat Pastor Benhur who was conducting the prayer service and also some of the attendees.

It was known from the source that these Hindu radicals warned them to stop preaching about Jesus in their locality.

The source also said that the Hindu radicals continued to beat the pastor and the members of the congregation in the presence of a police officer and his team who were present during the attack.

According to the news source it was known that these Hindu radicals later dragged some of the church members and the pastor and then filed a complaint against the pastor, despite the fact that he was the victim in this attack.

For the past three years, Pastor Benhur has been organizing Sunday Services regularly at Jalliguda. More than 50 believers get together for the prayer meetings.

Pastor Benhur ministers with an organization called Heavens Glory Ministries. He is married to Prassanna (30) and blessed with a daughter Jessika (3 years).

KARNATAKA, INDIA (ANS) — In another bizarre police interpretation of Indian law, a Christian believer who went to pray for his sick friend at a local hospital, and was then beaten up by a Hindu radical, has been charged for this terrible “crime”.

You would imagine that the man who did the beating would have been the one who was arrested, but that logic often doesn’t work in India.

So for this “crime” of praying and then getting beaten up, the Christian man was arrested and jailed by Karnataka state police after a complaint was registered against him on Tuesday, December 15.

According to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), Bhaskar was visiting his friend at the hospital and prayed for him. However, he was not aware of a Hindu radical who was present at the hospital and was observing his activities. The Hindu radical then caught hold of Bhaskar and beat him up.

A GCIC source also said that the attacker then informed the local leader of the Hindu radical group, Rashtriya Swayam Sevak (RSS), and others, about Bhaskar’s visit to the hospital and the prayer he had made for his friend.

It is understood that Bhaskar was then taken to the nearest police station by the RSS leaders and one of them filed a false complaint of “forced conversion” against him.

The source said, “After an inquiry, Bhaskar was charged under different sections of the law and he is being kept in Mandya Central Jail.”

As soon as GCIC was informed about what had happened, they immediately began the process of seeking bail for the believer.

In a latest update from GCIC, ANS has learned that Bhaskar, who is married with three children, was released from jail on December 17 at 3.00 pm after their intervention.