ICC Note:
Another pastor in India’s Bihar state was attacked by a gang of suspected Hindu radicals last week. According to reports, the gang lured the pastor outside of his house where they accused him of converting Hindus to Christianity and beat him with sticks and iron rods. Christians, especially pastors, have come under increasing attack in India. Often, Hindu radicals use the pretext of forced conversions as a justification for attacking pastors. Unfortunately, the perpetrators of this violence are rarely brought to justice creating a culture of impunity for for radicals seeking to attack Christians.
05/16/2017 India (Christian Post) – Another pastor in India has tasted the wrath of Hindu extremists after they hit him with iron rods and sticks, leaving him bleeding from the head.
Pastor Sikandar Kumar, 45, suffered such a severe beating that he lost his hearing, the Morning Star News reported.
The Hindu extremists attacked him just outside his home, which is inside church property, in Jadhua village in India’s Bihar state last month, sources said.
Sikandar was at his home when a young boy knocked on his door on April 5, telling him and his wife that a group of men were waiting outside to meet him, according to Pastor Arun Kumar, who is now leading the victim’s Pentecostal congregation.
“When the pastor stepped out, 15 men started beating him and accused him of conversions in the village,” Arun told Morning Star News.
He said the attackers hit the pastor with their iron rods and sticks, until the victim fell to the ground with a deep wound on his head.
The police initially detained five suspects but released them when the pastor failed to identify them.
Arun said the attackers even stole the pastor’s mobile phone.
This was not the first that Pastor Sikandar had been attacked. On Feb. 10, he and other church members were also pounced upon by Hindu extremists, Arun said.
“He even wrote to the chief minister and other government officials in February,” he said. “He didn’t receive any great response.”
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