ICC Note: A pastor in India was attacked by Hindu extremist who threatened to kill him if he continued preaching in this village. The pastor stated that the group came in vandalized the church, beat him up, and threatened to kill him if he did not stop preaching in this village.
09/19/2018 India (Express) – A pastor in India has revealed he was attacked by Hindu extremists who threatened to kill him if he continued to preach Christianity in the village.
The pastor, named only as Sujit, has opened up about the Hindu radicals vandalizing the church he built for his congregation and leaving him injured after attacking him.
Sujit confronted the group, including members of extremist group RSS, but was attack and bashed his head with a brick.
Sujit told anti-persecution charity Open Doors: “They showered continuous kicks and blows on me, threatening that they would kill me if I continued preaching Christianity in the village.
“I suffered severe head and spinal injuries. I was bleeding and was rushed to the hospital by my church members.
“When I first accepted Jesus, my family was forced, by the local villagers, to expel me from the house because of my faith.
“I went to another village and have been ministering there for 15 years. I have faced much opposition, but I have never suffered persecution like the one I suffered a few months ago.”
The pastor also said a retired army officer lied to the Hindu nationalist group RSS and told them that he was “luring people to Christianity using money”.
Sujit said: “After this, the RSS groups from other villages made many visits to our village, conducted meetings with the villagers and instigated the Hindus against us. There were constant attacks on the construction sites.”
The number of attacks against pastors in India has increased and many have accepted that they will be attacked during their career as a minister.
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For interviews with William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org.
