On June 8, Hindu extremists in central India looted church worship buildings, burned the Bible, assaulted all members and lost consciousness, sources said.
In Damtali district of Chhattisgarh, Hindu nationalists were attacked during an independent penis prayer communion service in Borshi village, Pastor Wakesh Saf, who heads the church along with his 57-year-old father, Mannohan Saf.
“They were forced into the church, confused the service, carried wooden sticks and yelling slogans like “Jai Sri Ram” (Hail Road Rama),” Pastor Weish Saf told Morning Star News.
The attackers threatening Christians told them to stop gathering for worship, he said. They broke all the chairs, fans, instruments, and gathered all the Christian literature together with the Bible and burned it.
Grabbing the Rev. Mannohan Saf, they beat him with a wooden stick, slapped him repeatedly in the face, and slammed him in the head with a wooden stick, said Pastor Weikish Saf.
“My dad was beaten and during this time he was blown near his ears and he lost consciousness,” he said. “The attacker called out a glass of water and pressed it against his mouth, probably because he was afraid he would die or die from a heartbeat.”
Pastor Mannohan Sahu suffered physical injuries, particularly on his head, ears, chest, hands and back.
The attackers defeated all 15 members who attended that day. Includes Pastor Waikish Saff’s mother when she tried to intervene and save her husband. Her hands and head were injured in the process.
“Two women and five men were seriously injured and had to be taken to hospital for treatment,” Pastor Waikish Saff said.
Five or seven of the pastors came from the villages, outsiders the pastor said they had never seen before.
Pastor Waikish Saff registered a detailed complaint with the Maganrod Police Station, but did not register a formal complaint as officers indicated they would first investigate. However, no formal complaints have been registered in this writing.
“Since the attack, our followers have stopped coming to worship because they are so scared. But in our family, about 10 of us worship at the same time,” Pastor Waikish Saff said. “We decided not to succumb to fear.”
Under the Hindu radar
This was not the first time a church had been attacked.
In June 2024, a Hindu extremist mob attacked his church in a similar way, threatening all those present and telling them to stop attending worship services, the pastor said.
“Since then, the congregation of nearly 50 has dropped to 15, and since the latest attack, no one (outside of his family) has come to church for fear of being attacked,” Pastor Wekish Saf said.
After last year’s attack, Dhamtari Christian leaders filed a memorandum of understanding with authorities, including Dhamtari district collectors.
“The police have been patrolling every Sunday since last year,” the pastor said. “They usually come in to see if people from nearby villages are present because they insist that only people from our village should be present in our services.
He added that after confirming attendance during police visits, they will usually take photos before leaving.
Members of the congregation stopped despite fear of being targeted by anti-Christian groups.
“Many of them attend services in nearby areas and other churches in the city, but are afraid to attend services at our church due to violence and fear of police,” the pastor said. “But they don’t realize that even urban churches are not spared.”
On the morning of June 8th, patrol police visited the church once again asked if anyone outside the village had been present and left. As the subsequent attacks were ongoing, officers arrived and ordered the assailant to leave.
“It was very surprising when the police told them, ‘That’s enough.’ “Even before they attacked us, it all seemed to have been in police knowledge.”
When he and other Christian leaders went to file formal complaints at the police station, Hindu extremists were waiting to attack them again. The pastor demanded police protection, and the officers agreed to drop them midway through their home.
“As the police were driving us, the Hindu mob was chasing the police vehicle,” he said. “They chased a mile after us and then detoured.”
He later said that the Hindu mob found out after they went to another Christian house in the area, destroyed and burned it.
Another congregation in Damtali, Elohim Church, endured an invasion by members of Hindu nationalist Bajiran Dal on Sunday (June 29), Pastor Arok Majamdal said.
“Hindu militants confused it by entering the church while service was underway and singing Hindu religious hymns loudly,” Pastor Majamdar told Morningstar News. “The police then arrived and spread out the members of Bajran Dal.”
The officer has received an informal complaint, but it has not yet been official. No physical violence or vandalism has been reported.
On the same day, Hindu extremists confused the worship service at another church in the district in Gopalpuri, about 10 miles from Pastor Majmdar’s church. That pastor, Thanu Ram, was not able to confirm the incident, but was cited by both Pastor Majumdar and Pastor Wakish Sahu.
Before attacking Pastor Majmdar’s church, the same day Hindu extremists went to Pastor Rekha Mahiran’s church on their way to Majmdar’s church. The extremists discovered that a 21-year-old man outside the building was attending a church for the first time and assaulted him. They then searched for a pastor in the church. Pastor Mahiran came forward and revealed that she was a pastor, and she and all the other women in the church stood up against the extremists.
“Hindu militants were using some kind of spray carefully on some women,” Pastor Mahiran told Morning Star News.
Eventually, due to the women’s resolve, the militants left and proceeded to the church of Pastor Arok Majmdar.
Pastor Mahiran did not report the matter to police.
Pastor Raju Verghese, Rev. Majmdar, President of the Damtali Christian Forum, Pastor Diamond Philias, on Tuesday (July 1) highlighted the rise of attacks on local churches and filed a memorandum with the collector’s office in sought action.
Pastor Verghese told the Morningstar news that district collector Avinash Mishra was busy with the meeting and said he would receive a memorandum from them and take it up later.
Christian support organization Open Door ranks 11th in India on the 2025 global watch list where Christians face the toughest persecution. India came in 31st in 2013, but has steadily fallen in the rankings since Narendra Modi took power as prime minister.
Defenders of religious rights point to the hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government led by Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, who said that since Modi came to power in May 2014, he has encouraged Hindu extremists in India.
