MUMBAI, India — A rash of violence in Maharashtra state in early November is typical of a growing history of unchecked Hindu extremist crimes against Christians in Thane district, Christian leaders say. In a scene repeated with impunity for years in the area, Hindu extremists armed with wooden clubs barged into the worship service of the Mumbai Diocesan Missionary Movement in the Kuttal village of Wada Nov. 4 and beat several members brutally enough that they required hospital treatment. When Pastor Suresh Suttar went to the police station to file a complaint against the extremists, officers detained him instead.
Unable to find any evidence for charges of fraudulent conversion, they released him Nov. 5, according to Abraham Mathai, vice chairperson of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission. “This attack took place despite an assurance [Nov. 2] from state Home Minister R.R. Patil that the police would take action against attacks on tribals,” Mathai said.
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