Two Christian couples in Odisha were beaten and forced out of Promilapadar village after they refused to recant their new-found faith.
Mukka Pudiyami and Pudiya Kovasi, along with their wives, decided to convert to Christianity after they received healing prayer from local pastor Peter Madkami last December.
After the village community came to know about the conversion, they called the two families for a meeting on December 17, where the Christians were asked to recant their faith.
The couples, however, remained strong in faith in the midst of persecution and refused to reconvert.
After the refusal, the villagers started to attack the couples with wooden sticks. Though the couples managed to escape, they sustained injuries in the back and were left bleeding.
From that day on, the couples were banned from entering Promilapadar and were told that they would get themselves killed if they dared to return.
Additionally, the pastor who led the two couples to Christianity was also banned from the village.
With growing misconception of forced conversions in the country, Christians are more likely to be persecuted for practicing the religion of their choice.
