ICC Note: Three pastors for India’s Uttar Pradesh state were savagely beaten by a mob of Hindu radicals earlier this month. The pastors were targeted by the radicals for leading a two-day spiritual retreat for local Christians. Attacks on Christians and their places of worship have increased in number and severity in recent years. In 2017, the Evangelical Fellowship of India documented 351 attacks on Christians across India.

09/12/2018 India (The Express) – Three Christian pastors have been severely injured following a vicious attack by Hindu radicals in India.

The attack took place in the Uttar Pradesh State where a Christian group were spending two days doing a spiritual retreat.

Persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC) said a mob from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) attacked the hall where the 25 Christians were meeting for the spiritual retreat.

The VHP is an Indian right-wing Hindu nationalist organization based on the ideology of Hundutva.

Pastor Masih who was injured in the attack said to ICC: “All of this happened in the presence of the police.”

“The police did not come to our rescue.”

“Rather, they joined the mob in accusing us of doing forcible conversions.”

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