Hindu extremists in central India ransacked a church’s worship building, burned Bibles and assaulted every member, causing one to lose consciousness, sources said.
In Chhattisgarh state’s Dhamtari District, the Hindu nationalists attacked during the independent Penial Prayer Fellowship’s worship service in Borsi village, said Pastor Wakish Sahu, who leads the church along with his 57-year-old father, Mannohan Sahu.
“They forcibly entered the church, disrupted the worship service and were carrying wooden rods and shouting slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ [Hail lord Rama],” Pastor Wakish Sahu told Morning Star News.
Threatening the Christians, the attackers told them to stop gathering for worship, he said. They broke all the chairs, fans and musical instruments, then collected all of the Christian literature along with the Bibles and burned them.
Taking hold of Pastor Mannohan Sahu, they beat him with wooden rods, slapped his face repeatedly, struck his head with wooden sticks and kicked him, Pastor Wakish Sahu said.
“My father was being beaten up, and during this time, blows landed near his ear, and he lost his consciousness,” he said. “The assaulters, probably scared that he was dead or going to die from the beating, called for a glass of water and forced it in his mouth.”
Pastor Mannohan Sahu sustained injuries over all his body, especially on his head, ear, chest, hands and back.
The assailants beat all 15 members present that day, including Pastor Wakish Sahu’s mother when she tried to intervene and save her husband; her hands and head were injured in the process.
“Two women and five men sustained severe injuries and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment,” said Pastor Wakish Sahu.
Only five to seven of the assailants were from the village, the others being outsiders, the pastor said he “had never seen before.”
Pastor Wakish Sahu registered a detailed complaint at the Maganlodh police station, but officers did not register a formal complaint as they indicated they would investigate first. At the time of writing, however, no formal complaint has been registered.
“Since the attack, the believers have stopped coming for worship as they are too scared, and understandably so; but our family members, around 10 of us, still worship at the same time,” Pastor Wakish Sahu said. “We have decided that we will not give in to fear.”
This was not the first time the church has been attacked.
A mob of Hindu extremists in June 2024 attacked his church in a similar way, threatening all those present and telling them to stop attending worship services, the pastor said.
“Since then, our congregation of close to 50 people had reduced to 15, and since the latest attack, nobody [outside his family] is coming to church for fear of being assaulted,” Pastor Wakish Sahu said.
After the attack last year, Dhamtari Christian leaders had submitted a memorandum to authorities, including the District Collector of Dhamtari.
Congregation members also stopped coming out of fear of being targeted by anti-Christian groups.
“Many of them have told us that they will attend worship in other churches in nearby areas or in the city, but are afraid of attending worship services at our church because of fear of violence and the police,” the pastor said. “However, they do not understand that even city churches have not been spared.”
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