(Compass) – An Indian pastor brutally beaten in a night-time attack in West Tripura is still recovering from serious knife wounds. Letthang Gangte, a missionary of the Evangelical Congregational Church of India, received cuts to the head and back, and a deep stab wound in the stomach. Witnesses say it was a miracle he survived the attack from as many as 10 assailants who broke through the walls of the family’s mud hut around 3 a.m. on April 19. Mrs. Gangte sustained injuries to her head and one arm and the couple’s daughter Bebem, 7, and son Bawilun, 10, suffered slashes on their calves and thighs. The family had lived in the village of Rajghat since 1995. Sources think the attack was inspired by the recent propaganda efforts of militant Hindu groups to discourage local tribal peoples to convert to Christianity. The family’s sending church requested law enforcement authorities to investigate the crime, but the police refused, saying Gangte must first identify the men who attacked him.