FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS

News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Karnataka – Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bajrang Dal on Jan. 28 locked up five Christians and beat them in Kanakagiri, Koppal district. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) reported that the Christians – identified only as J. Ravi, Lawrence, Williams, Manjula and James – were beaten mercilessly for being Christians. The assailants told the Christians that they either had to convert to Hinduism or move to another place, according to the GCIC. The Christians later received police protection. – MS

Madhya Pradesh, February 7 (Compass Direct News) – Hindu extremists on Jan. 31 attacked a pastor, vandalized his church building and beat members of his congregation in Lall Barra village, Lalgarh Balaghat district, reported the Global Council of Indian Christians. At around 2 p.m. Pastor Mahandra Nath Deve of Alpha Bible Church was conducting worship when nearly 25 Hindu extremists barged into the church building, grabbed a Bible from him, tore its pages and began thrashing congregants. They smashed the public address system and musical instruments and accused the Christians of “conversion activities,” though evangelizing and conversion is legal in India. Deve told Compass that even as they were slapping him, he told his congregation not to retaliate, but rather to disperse. After Deve filed a complaint against the attackers, police arrested four Hindu extremists. “The estimated loss incurred due to vandalization is around 30,000 rupees [US$645],” Deve said. – BW

India (MNN) — February 8, A mass religious gathering in India this week is causing fear among Christians living in Madhya Pradesh state. Hindu nationalists planned to remove all Christians in advance of the homecoming event on the river Narmada. According to Gospel for Asia, the believers and pastors struggle with mixed emotions over the intended plans. The risk of violence is very high. Pray that it will not affect ministries, and that the missionaries will be a strong witness for Christ and reach many who are lost.

NEW DELHI, January 21 (Compass Direct News) – Relatives of a pastor who was found dead in a secluded area in eastern Orissa state’s Kandhamal district last week have accused local police of a cover-up. The body of Saul Pradhan, a 45-year-old independent pastor whose house was burned by Hindu extremists two years ago, was found near a pond in Pakala village in Kandhamal’s Raikia Block on Jan. 11 and bore marks of assault, Catholic activist Ajay Singh told Compass. The pastor’s hands and legs appeared twisted, there was blood in his mouth and his pants were torn, Singh said. “Why should it not arouse suspicion when Pastor Pradhan was last seen with two Hindu men, Marda Pradhan and Baiju Mallick, who were among the rioters who burned houses of Christians in 2008?” he said. A local activist with the Evangelical Fellowship of India said he visited the site after the body had been removed and saw blood stains on a stone. Christian residents of Kandhamal say the antagonism toward them by those who engaged in the attacks under the influence of extremist Hindu nationalists remains strong even today. Police, however, say they have found little reason to suspect foul play. “There were no injury marks on the body of the man,” Inspector Ravi Narayan Barik told Compass, refuting the claims of the dead man’s family. “The doctor who performed the autopsy said it was just an unnatural death.” An official autopsy report was still awaited at press time. Singh said that when the family went to police to report the suspected murder, officers were unwilling to listen. “The police scolded them,” Singh said. “They said he must have died from the cold.”