The pastor’s wife and an eyewitness confirmed that four Nihang Sikh warriors shouted at the Singhs: “We have warned you earlier as well not to conduct church and not convert people, but you have not paid heed” when Gurdeep was standing outside the house of worship. The Sikh men then leapt and injured him with swords and knives. 

The pastor and his wife rushed outside to save Gurdeep, but the group attacked the pastor and struck him with several blows. During the assault, the offenders used coarse language and accused the Christians of converting villagers.

The pastor’s wife recalled the terrible incident: “They were targeting his head. To protect his head, Gurjeet shielded every blow with his hand and thus sustained severe cuts on both his hands, his arm, his palm and they almost chopped off his thumb. My husband was threatened twice by the Nihang Sikhs earlier, but he did not tell me anything about the threat – he knew I would begin to worry. They somehow managed to stop the bleeding temporarily and asked me to deposit money first before they would start the actual treatment.”

Hospital treatment is expensive and the pastor’s wife could not afford it, therefore the Christian victims had to be transported to the Christian Medical College & Hospital in Ludhiana, 90 miles away from Amritsar. Both men had to endure surgery. 

A police claim is still to be filed, although the Christian family is less than hopeful of the outcome. Hostility towards Christians has increased significantly in the past decade, and the police do not invest time and effort in penalising the perpetrators.

According to another local pastor, Vishnu Dev: “I am very disturbed at the brutal attack on the brothers. If the police do not conduct a fair investigation and just action, we will gather together and protest against the authorities and demand justice.”

Pastor Singh has been managing the house church for ten years. 

Source: https://morningstarnews.org/