Pastor attacked in Andhra Pradesh

A pastor was attacked at Sadasiva Nagar, Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh on January 6 in front of his residence by a group of Hindu fundamentalists for allegedly converting people.

According to information obtained by All India Christian Council (AICC), the pastor sustained serious injuries in the attack and had to be hospitalised.

On January 6, while Pastor M. Gabriel was away from home, some Hindu fundamentalists went to his house and threatened his wife with dire consequences, demanding that the family leave the village as they were accused of converting people to the Christian faith.

When the extremists learnt that the pastor was not at home, they decided to wait outside. Later, that night, while the pastor was returning home, he noticed a group of people sitting around a fire, waiting for him. As soon as they saw him, they asked him to halt. Sensing trouble, the pastor ran towards his house but could not get inside in time as his wife was sleeping and it was locked from inside.

Catching up with him, the extremists rained blows on him with sticks till he fell down on the ground, suffering deep injuries on his chest and head.

Later he was shifted to the government hospital in Kama Reddy town for treatment. According to sources close to the development, the pastor and his family are extremely frightened, wondering what would happen next.

AICC has expressed deep concern over the incident and has apppointed a team to look into the matter.