08/09/2020 India (International Christian Concern) – According to Morning Star News, three Christian families from a rural village in India’s Chhattisgarh state were attacked and beaten with wooden batons on May 20. These family were reportedly attacked because they refused to participate in a celebration honoring the village’s tribal deities.
“They ran into the wilderness to hide while the assailants vandalized their belongings,” Pastor Ramdhar Kashyap told Morning Star News.
“The three families, including their children and the elderly sister, a total of 14 injured Christians, fled from Devkupli Para in different directions, fearing for their lives,” Pastor Kahyap added.
The families eventually arrived at a church in nearby Burdi village. There, Pastor Kahyap called for ambulances to take the injured to the local hospital.
According to Morning Star News, the three Christian families had been harassed for months prior to the May 20 attack. After the attack, the injured Christians received treatment at the local government hospital.
Pastor Kahyap encouraged the Christian families to report the attack to local police. However, the victims were reluctant.
“They were terrified,” Pastor Kashyap told Morning Star News. “They told me that the assailants had threatened that they would be killed if the matter is reported at the police station.”
Eventually, the Christian families reported the incident to the police. Officers took the statements of the injured and assured them that they would file cases against the assailants. However, when the assailants were summoned to the police station, the police seemed in favor of the assailants and released them on bail without putting anything in writing.
