Two Christian pastors were reported jailed on alleged forced conversion charges in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, said a report from the group International Christian Concern (ICC).
The report said a mob of radical Hindu nationalists broke into the worship hall in Rajouti village and assaulted the congregation during Sunday worship on March 27.
At least 15 policemen came into the church and arrested the pastor and a member of his congregation, said the report. The two were later sent to jail.
The ICC report said that when Christians in the village refused to recant their faith, “the mob attacked the Sunday gathering and disrupted the worship service.”
Prior to the attack, a complaint of illegal conversion activities was reported to the police, said the report.
The police later arrested the two pastors based on the allegation and filed a First Information Report, accusing the pastors of being in breach of the state anti-conversion law.
The pastors oversee a congregation of 25 Christian families that regularly gather in a makeshift hall for worship.
The report said the families stood strong in their faith against the threats and abuses.
The state BJP president, Vishnudev Sai, reportedly belonged to the same village where the attack took place.
The report said his party’s failure to bring the 25 Christian families back to Hinduism might have led to him using his leverage with the police to attack the believers with impunity.
Social boycotts, disruption of worship and service, violent assaults, and imprisonment of pastors and Christians have become commonplace in recent months in the country.
