Nine Christians from Chhattisgarh's Koshalnar village were hospitalised after a mob of radical Hindu nationalists stormed into a recently constructed church hall during Sunday service and viciously beat the congregation.
Local sources claim that the crowd gathered and encircled the Church on November 20 during service and compelled the preacher and his brother to leave the hall. When the two came out, the crowd cursed them, beat them with clubs, and said they had turned away from Hinduism.
The crowd also attacked the Christians gathered for worship. Several of them suffered significant injuries and were hurried to the hospital for treatment.
Apart from churches, Chhattisgarh's Christian population also suffers persecution when Christian cemeteries are targeted. Radicals in the region have removed the bodies of deceased Christians from their graves, claiming that they should be buried at a Christian cemetery rather than in their hometown. The villages, however, lack such Christian cemeteries.
