Christian leaders beaten and kidnapped while baptizing new converts
Raipur (AsiaNews) -- Two Protestant pastors, who were about to baptize 32 new members of the faithful, were beaten and abducted by anti-Christian groups, yesterday, Tuesday, October 5, in Chhattisgarh (Central India).
Tulsiram and Vijay, two pastors of the Gospel for Asia group, were attacked and taken by force by their captors to an unknown location.
Vijay managed to escape and informed his district leader of what had happened. They then reported the incident to Chhattisgarth authorities.
Reverend Tulsiram (see photo) has been a pastor since 2001: the baptisms that he was about to perform were to be the first fruits of his missionary work.
This violence against 2 pastors is not an isolated incident in the state of Chhattisgarh: in recent months, the local press reported that Hindu extremist groups Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Dharma Jagran Vibhag ("Religious Reawakening Division") had formed groups of armed youth in every village of the state. The aim of these groups, known as Raksha Sean, is to put an end to conversions to Christianity. (LF)
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20/12/2004
