Mob attacks pastor, elder during Sunday service

BHILAI, India — About 50 Hindu extremists disrupted the Sunday worship service of a church in India’s Chhattisgarh state Aug. 5 and attacked the pastor and an elder. The Christian Legal Association (CLA) reported that in Baba Deep Singh Nagar in Bhilai city, Durg district, a mob, led by Rajesh Thabre and Sudeep Banerjee allegedly from the Bajrang Dal, youth wing of the Hindu organization Vishwa Hindu Parishad, beat Pastor Babula Chandra Paik of the Mid-India Christian Services ministry and church elder Adi Narayan with sticks. The crowd also shouted insults against Christianity, accused the pastor of forcible conversions, tore up Bibles and vandalized the house where the church meets. The Supela police station registered a complaint against Thabre, Banerjee and others but no one was arrested. CLA attorneys W.P. Massey and Kanti Kumar are helping the victims.