26th May, 2016
Hindu villagers in Chhattisgarh state last month attacked 28 Christians, drove them from their homes and set their houses on fire, sources have told Morning Star News.
The news organisation reports that Christians in Katholi village, Kanker District, who had been beaten and twice chased out from their homes by Hindu extremists, returned to their homes on 3rd May after police registered a case against 12 assailants and the hard-line Hindus agreed not to attack again.
The Christians had fled their village on 25th April when the radical Hindus partially burned their houses after beating them at a public meeting, Morning Star News reports. Prior to the attack, the assailants met and resolved that all area Christians should “reconvert” to Hinduism because their gods were angry over the villagers putting their faith in Christ.
The Christians took refuge in the homes of Christians in Kaviti, sources told Morning Star News, and the next day filed a police complaint. Returning to their village, they were again attacked and forced to flee.
Morning Star News reports that the 28 Christians, including eight children, once again fled and for five days some were put up in a small church building in the village of Bhanupratappur, and others in the homes of Christians.
With the help of the area Christian leaders, Korar police subsequently registered a case against the 12 attackers.
Pastor Able Varghese told the news organisation that police had made a "compromise" between the two parties "wherein the Hindu extremists agreed that they will not repeat any kind of attacks or discrimination against the Christians, and whereby the Christians also agreed to go back to their village."
They returned on 3rd May.