On March 1, a mob of Hindu radicals attacked a small Christian community in Bandhan village, located in the Palghar District of Maharashtra. Prior to the attack, radicals had been harassing the small Christian community for months, demanding they stop participating in Christian worship and convert to Hinduism. The extremists even went as far as to cut off the water supply to the Christians in February.

The injured Christians were taken to a hospital in a nearby town where they received treatment and were interviewed by local police officers. Hearing about the attack. Pastor Gowri and two other local pastors rushed to the hospital to help the victims.

According to Pastor Gowri, the police interrupted the victims and narrated their own version of the events while taking statements. 

With the other pastors joining Pastor Gowri in confronting the police officers, they went on to complain about months of police inaction. 

Two days later, on March 3, the three pastors who confronted the police were called to the Manora Police Station.

There, they were informed that criminal charges had been filed against them for house trespass with intent to cause assault, unlawful assembly, rioting, and criminal intimidation. These charges were leveled against the pastor even though none of them were present at the time of the assault on March 1.

The pastors were released on bail after spending a day in custody.

You can read the full article here.

Photo: Christian Headlines