India

INDIA: Pastor’s family in hiding after beating and false accusations

With updates from Algeria, Nigeria and Pakistan

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A retired pastor and his family in northern India have been badly beaten and forced into hiding after police took sides with their attackers.

Pastor Patram Mangala, his wife Sarla and their two sons suffered multiple injuries when a mob of up to 40 people attacked them with sticks and rocks.

When the extremists accused the family of ‘rioting’ and ‘trying to take Hindu land’, police registered a case immediately. When the family tried to file a complaint against their attackers, police took a week to respond.

Please pray that God will comfort and protect the Mangala family.

The attack took place at St John School in Sohna, Haryana state, which the Mangala family help run. The school is built on land they own. The mob were angry after a recent court ruling went in favour of the Mangalas and prevented extremists from erecting a Hindu idol at the school.

Having lost the court case, it appears extremists are now using the police and media to push their agenda. Local TV has broadcast interviews with police and the alleged ringleader of the attack, both outlining a long list of false charges against the family.

  • Pray that God will protect Patram, Sarla and their sons, and deliver justice for them.
  • Ask God to touch the hearts of the extremists persecuting the Mangala family and cause them to turn away from violence and hatred.
  • Please pray that God will raise up into positions of influence and authority people in India who will champion religious freedom for all.

(Source: Morning Star News)

UPDATES

Please continue to pray for our church family in Algeria where yet another church has been forcibly shut. Police sealed the church of Tigzirt in Tizi-Ouzou Province at the end of last month. Nine Protestant churches have been closed since a government crackdown began in 2017.
(Source: Middle East Concern)

The church in Nigeria needs our prayers after yet more Christians were kidnapped and murdered. Last month, Boko Haram militants abducted and killed two Christian aid workers from Plateau state, Lawrence Dacighir and Godfrey Shikagham, who were working with displaced people in Maiduguri, Borno state. Meanwhile, Fulani herdsmen kidnapped pastor’s wife Esther Ishaku Katung in Bagoma, Kaduna, in mid-September. Her family paid a large ransom – before her body was discovered. Please pray for families who have lost loved ones in such a brutal way.
(Source: Morning Star News)

Please continue to pray for our brother in Pakistan, Zafar Bhatti, who was expecting a High Court ruling today (October 10, 2019) on his appeal against a life sentence for blasphemy. The case has been adjourned again, with no new date set.
(Source: Release contacts)