AMTOLA, India — Church members have fled a village in northeast India after a vicious attack that seriously injured at least three Christians including a 7-year-old girl.
A mob of about 100 Hindu extremists armed with swords, bamboo sticks and stones attacked Christians who were eating after a service April 17 at 8 p.m. in Amtola village, Golpara District, Assam, church leaders said. At least 15 Christians were injured, many of them wounded on their heads and upper bodies.
“Right now there are no Christians in the village — all have fled,” said David Boro, of Guwahati. “The Christian families who were the main target of the attack are now in a safe house after they were released from the hospital. The more critically injured are still in the hospital and when … released, they too will join the others in the safe house.”
The village is no longer safe, and the families have no homes to go back to, church leaders said.
Another Christian leader, Kamleshwar Baglary, said, “Not satisfied with merely beating the Christians, the mob led by Hindu extremists broke and destroyed the homes of these Christian families. All together, five houses have been completely destroyed.”
The 7-year-old girl, Pranita Rabha, suffered serious chest injuries and clots in her brain due to the beating, church leaders said. She and two other Christians were rushed to Guwahati, the state capital, for medical treatment at Guwahati Medical College. (MS)
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