Church leaders and the Evangelical Fellowship of India are urging the Indian government to take strict actions against violent attacks on Christians by protecting the churches and safeguarding the rights of religious minorities.
In Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, two Christians were taken to a local police station with claims of being involved in forced conversion on August 4.
On July 29, in Kanshiram Colony in Kanpur, two Christian men were attacked by a group of extremists and Christian women were verbally abused on their way to attend a prayer meeting organised at a home.
The pastor was dragged out of the prayer meeting and beaten by the extremists. He was detained for five hours at a local police station along with two other Christian men. The police warned the Christians not to gather and pray together. However, no actions were taken against the extremists.
In Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, a pastor was threatened by Hindu extremists on July 29.
In Bhiwani, Haryana, two police officials ordered to stop a church service on July 28.
Compared to previous year, hate crime and targeted violence against Christians has tripled in Uttar Pradesh. In 2018 alone, there were 132 incidents compared to 50 incidents in 2017.
In all, there were 325 incidents recorded against Indian Christians in 2018.
