Indian church groups condemn attacks on Christians in Orissa

Published: 2004-02-18

BHUBANESHWAR, India (CNS) -- Indian church groups have condemned an incident in which Christian women were stripped and had their heads shaved and a male pastor disappeared. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and the National Council of Churches in India said Feb. 16 that the incident was indicative of continuing anti-Christian violence in Orissa state, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. "It is a matter of great concern to us that incidents of intimidation, physical assault and threats to eliminate members of (the) Christian community in several places have been on the increase," the joint statement said. The seven women and two men whose heads were shaved Feb. 10 in Killipala village were members of the Church of Mount Zion, an independent Pentecostal church. The village is about 30 miles east of the state capital of Bhubaneshwar. The Rev. Subash Samal, pastor of the village's church community, was one of the two men assaulted and has been missing since then. Christians said the attackers abducted him. The incident occurred four days after a gang of about 35 villagers dragged Christians from their homes, beat them and threatened to kill them if they did not give up Christianity.

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