Prayer Meeting Attacked, Pastors and Participants Beaten and Jailed

By James Varghese, Special Correspondent in India for ASSIST News Service

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.”