(Worthy News) - More than 20 Christians were injured, and five were arrested and imprisoned on false pretenses, after a mob of some 200 Hindus attacked their Methodist church in India’s Telangana state earlier this month, Open Doors reports.
The unprecedentedly violent attack on the Telangana Christian community came after the Methodist Church in the Janwada village area of Rangareddy district was informed its building would be torn down in order for a road to be widened, MSN reports.
While there are other worship centers along the road, only the church was slated for demolition. When the Christians protested, the mob turned on them.
In a statement to MSN, one of the church members whose name is withheld for security reasons, said: “The argument became strong, and suddenly around 200 people barged into the church with hockey sticks, stones and wooden sticks. When the believers tried to stop them, they beat them mercilessly and broke everything that was inside the church. Even children and women suffered injuries, and some men required 10 to 18 stitches to cover the injuries they sustained. It was so painful to see their situation.”
“The church believers are from poor backgrounds, and most of them are uneducated. They were not prepared or never expected such persecution,” the church member said.
The believers reported the matter to police, who intervened, but they arrested and detained five church members as well. “The believers did not do any harm but still the police arrested five believers along with others,” the church member said.
“When we filed a case against the attackers, they filed a counter case on 26 believers for attempted murder. The imprisoned believers were terrified and forced to sign some documents in favor of the attackers. So, the attackers got bail and were released from prison immediately, whereas the believers were released on bail only two weeks later.”
Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, India ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.