Kerala – Four unidentified men attacked Dr. Thomas Mathai and his wife on May 8 at Cheppampara village in Kottayam District of Kerala, the Rev. Paul Ciniraj of Salem Voice Ministries reported. Mathai is both a medical doctor and an evangelist. “At 12:15 a.m. there was a knock on my door,” Mathai told Compass. “Four men pleaded for my help with an accident victim. When I opened the door, the men barged into the house, bound my hands and feet, gagged me and thrashed me with a steel pipe.” Mathai’s wife rushed to help him and was also gagged and had her hands and feet bound. The attackers then made off with her gold jewelry, some cash and two mobile phones. After untying their bonds, the couple registered a case at the Ponkunnam police station. According to Ciniraj, robbery was not the motive; Mathai was targeted for sharing the gospel. “This is the third attack in Kerala in recent weeks,” Ciniraj added. “A few weeks ago in Idukki district, some Brethren evangelists were beaten up, and about a fortnight ago vandals attacked the Carmel Gospel Center in Kottayam district.” Police were investigating, but at press time no arrests had been made.

Orissa – A group of approximately 60 extremists attacked Pabitra Mohan Kata, an independent Christian worker, in Adigara village, Kandhamal district, Orissa state on May 6, as he returned from a visit to a Christian friend. The assailants were allegedly followers of the Hindu cleric Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. Until 1995, Kata had supported extremist groups in the area. The attackers accused him of taking money from missionaries, converting to a foreign religion and converting others using force and allurement, according to Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians. Kata bled profusely from his left jaw and ear during the attack, but the extremists continued to beat him until the police arrived. “They really intended to kill him,” George said. The police initially refused to register Kata’s complaint and threatened to arrest him on charges of “forced” conversion; they backed down only after local Christian leaders spoke out on his behalf. The accused remained at large at press time.

Tamil Nadu – Eight Hindu extremists broke into the house of an independent pastor, Paul Chinnaswamy, in the Hosur area of Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu on May 5. They hit the 51-year-old pastor in the thigh with a screwdriver, pushed his face into a wall, hit him in the ribs, insulted his wife and threatened to harm his 4-year-old daughter – before warning him not to report the incident to the police, according to Dr. Sajan K. George of the Global Council of Indian Christians. The attackers also broke into a cupboard and took 2,750 rupees (US$64), claiming that the amount was given by “foreigners” for conversion. Chinnaswamy said he had set aside the money to pay his electricity bill. During the attack, about 20 other extremists surrounded the house to prevent the couple from fleeing. Extremists had earlier beaten Chinnaswamy and vandalized his kitchen on April 22 to protest his work; his 24-year-old son later moved out of the family home, fearing for his life. “Being from a poor Dalit family, Chinnaswamy has not lodged a police complaint,” George added.

Copyright 2007 Compass Direct News