ORISSA STATE, India — A pastor and his cousin charged with attempted forced conversion in Orissa state were released on bail Jan. 24, while five Hindu villagers charged with assault and setting fire to the pastor’s house are still in custody. On Jan. 15, Hindu villagers attacked Rabindra Mallick as he returned home from a nearby market.
The next morning, a group of about 15 villagers armed with sticks stormed the home of his older brother, Pastor Kulamani Mallick, and assaulted him and his family. Kulamani Mallick and two other family members required hospital treatment for minor injuries.
The assailants set fire to their house, and seven adjacent houses also were burned and destroyed — in total, six homes belonging to Christians were gutted. Shortly thereafter, a village woman accused the pastor and two of his relatives of forced conversion.
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