By (International Christian Concern)
On November 4, five Christians were brutally attacked by radical Hindu nationalists in the Meerpet neighborhood of Hyderabad, India. The attack resulted in the Christian victims sustained multiple injuries.
According to Pastor Steven Hanok, a 50-year-old Christian woman named Sadhya invited several members of the church, including Pastor Hanok, to a prayer meeting at her home on November 4. Prior to the meeting, Sadhya had received permission from her Hindu landlord to hold the meeting in her home. However, Pastor Hanok suspects the landlord told local nationalists about the prayer meeting.
At around noon, only minutes after the Christians gathered at Sadhya’s home, 15 nationalists broke into the house and attacked the Christians with wooden clubs and sticks. The landlord joined the nationalists and helped drag Pastor Hanok out of the house where he was further attacked.
“They came prepared to burn us,” Pastor Hanok told International Christian Concern (ICC). “I saw someone from the group taking petrol out of the fuel tank of a motorbike and heard others directing where the burning would take place.”
“I was panicked as all of this was going on,” Pastor Hanok continued. “For 30 minutes the attack continued, but we eventually managed to run in different directions and reached the police station.”
As a result of the attack several Christians were injured and Pastor Hanok’s car was damaged. A Christian man named Janaiah had his eardrum completely shattered and a Christian women named Annamma also lost six teeth.
A complaint was lodged with local police and a First Information Report (FIR no. 773/2020) was filed against the nationalists. Five nationalists, including two men named Rajesh and Teja, were remanded to jail for their involvement in the attack.