BIHAR, India — In late August a Christian couple was targeted by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar state of India. They required hospital treatment after the extremists beat and publicly resolved to kill them.
A small band of men forcefully entered the home of Shri Lal Khatiyan the morning of Aug. 30 calling him and his wife pagans as they beat him, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). When Khatiyan’s wife, Asha Devi, tried to intervene they called her names and hit her on the head with the handle of a sickle, EFI reported.
Later that day, about 100 Hindu extremists with clubs stood in each corner of the village and threatened to cut into pieces any Christian who tried to leave the area to file a police complaint, area pastor Laxmi Prasad said.
“The believers somehow contacted me by telephone and I immediately informed the area superintendent of police,” Prasad said. Authorities that evening sent two policemen to provide protection to Christians.
On Sept. 2, after police had left the village, the extremists held a public meeting at which they resolved to kill the couple, Prasad said, adding, “The Christians are living in constant fear.”
Non-Hindus have been frequently attacked since BJP took power in India on May 26.
Share with others: