ICC Note: A Christian pastor and his son in Uttar Pradesh, India were savagely beaten by a mob of Hindu radicals last week Friday. According to reports, the Christians were attacked after driving a stray dog from the entrance of a church. This upset a local Hindu man, who stirred up a mob and attacked the Christian family the following day. Attacks against Christians in India have continued to escalate in both number and intensity. In the first weeks of July, ICC documented at least 15 attacks on Christians in only 14 days.
07/24/2018 India (Asia News) – A Pentecostal Christian pastor of Uttar Pradesh and his son were savagely beaten by an angry mob of radical Hindus “dressed up” as animal lovers. The Christians were attacked for driving a stray dog from the entrance of a church, triggering the violent reaction of about 30 people incited by an animal rights activist.
The incident, although apparently a simple local dispute, is a symptom of a growing climate of intolerance towards the Christian minority in the Indian state and, more generally, throughout the Union. Sajan K George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), told Asia News, “In Uttar Pradesh there is no sign of intimidation towards vulnerable Christians stopping.”
The incident occurred in the village of Meerut and was reported by the online newspaper Times of India. The altercation between the animal lover and the two Protestants took place on 19 July, while the aggression took place the following day.
According to the Rev. Sumer Samuel, 46, the dog question “was just a pretext. The mistreatment continues in one way or another. The incident occurred on Thursday [19 July] when I went to visit the families of three young men who died while cleaning the cistern of a nearby abattoir.”
The pastor continues the story and claims that, “Suresh Kumar, a villager, began to argue with my eldest son Abhinav because he wanted the dog out of the church. The actual attack took place on Friday morning [20 July] when about 30 people, returning from the cremation ceremony of the three boys, entered our house and attacked my wife and I and beat my son.”
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