According to International Christian Concern (ICC), a Christian family was targeted by a group of radical Hindu nationalists when conducting a family prayer inside their own home in Madhya Pradesh.
Local sources said the radicals used the pandemic as a pretext to attack the Christian family.
Pastor Harish and his family were in their Jhabua home when a group of three men began throwing stones at the house at around 9 p.m. on Sunday.
The men screamed profanities and even tore down a wooden fence that had been erected around the home.
The family was very scared after “hearing the curses and filthy language,” Pastor Harish told ICC.
“They were very furious and told me that I should not hold any prayers, even with my own family.”
Despite the fact that Pastor Harish was praying with his own family, the radicals alleged that the pastor had broken COVID-19 protocol by gathering for prayers, and cautioned him that if he continued to hold prayers, they would forcibly remove him from the area.
This was not the first time Pastor Harish had been attacked or threatened in this way.
“About a year ago we were attacked even worse,” he told ICC. “But when I approached the police, they did not act against the culprits. They targeted me instead and gave me a hard time.”
Before the pandemic, Pastor Harish was leading a local house church with an average attendance of 80 families. However, due to the severity of the pandemic, the pastor did not hold any activities for over a year.
