According to religious freedom charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), believers at Praise the Lord Church in the Tamil Nadu region were praying together last weekend when six men aged between 21 and 38 disrupted their meeting and threatened the church pastor.
The men who have been identified as part of the Nationalist group Hindu Munanni, assaulted members of the congregation after threatening to kill them if they continued to pray.
One churchgoer’s hand was fractured and an elderly woman sustained head injuries in the incident and Bibles from the church were also destroyed by the attackers.
The church’s lead pastor, Philip Rangasamy has claimed this is the second violent intrusion they have had from the Hindu extremist group in the past three months.
Nehemiah Christie, Director of Legislation & Regulations of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches in Tamil Nadu, said: “It is heart-rending to see that the government has ignored repeated calls from human rights activists about the rising religious intolerance in the state.
“The church has been conducting prayer services for the last 13 years.”
CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said “We urge the state and central governments to prosecute those who incite hatred and perpetrate violence against religious minorities.
“The freedom to assemble and pray is a fundamental right of every Indian citizen, which is…
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