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House Church Attacked by Mob of Radicals in Northern India

India – According to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) India, a Christian house church, led by two Christians named Vinod and Sujatha, was attacked by a mob led by radical Hindu nationalists in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh.
On July 2, Christians assembled at a house church to pray in Azamgarh when the mob attacked and disrupted the service. The mob was led by the son of the village leader. The radicals threatened the Christians and said they would be killed if they tried to gather again.
The next day, July 3, the mob returned to the house church and ransacked it. A Christian woman present was threatened and told not to seek help from the police. Members of the mob threatened that the Christian men would be murdered, women would be raped, and the house church would be set on fire.
The mob also accused Vinod of carrying out forceful religious conversions. Later, he was captured by the mob and forced to bow down before a Hindu idol.
According to ADF India, the Christians of Azamgarh reached out to ADF’s Uttar Pradesh Legal Aid Cell for assistance. An FIR was registered and six leaders from the mob were taken into police custody.
However, a crowd of 100 people gathered outside the police station and demanded the release of the criminals. A few days later, under pressure, the police released the six leaders from their custody.
Sources:Persecution
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പതിനാറ് രാജ്യങ്ങളിൽ ഇഫ്താർ വിതരണം നടത്താനൊരുങ്ങി സൗദി അറേബ്യ

റിയാദ്: പതിനാറ് രാജ്യങ്ങളില് ഇഫ്താര് വിതരണം നടത്തുന്ന പദ്ധതിക്ക് തുടക്കം കുറിക്കാനൊരുങ്ങി സൗദി അറേബ്യ. കൊവിഡ് പ്രതിരോധ, മുന്കരുതല് നടപടികള് പാലിച്ച് സൗദി 16 രാജ്യങ്ങളില് ഇഫ്താര് വിതരണം നടത്തുമെന്ന് റിപ്പോര്ട്ട് ചെയ്തു.
വിവിധ പ്രദേശങ്ങളില് നിന്നുള്ള അഭ്യര്ത്ഥനകള്ക്കനുസരിച്ച് അതത് രാജ്യങ്ങളിലെ സൗദി എംബസികളുമായും ഇസ്ലാമിക് മന്ത്രാലയ കേന്ദ്രങ്ങളുമായും ഏകോപിപ്പിച്ചാണ് വിതരണം നടത്തുക. ലോകമെമ്പാടമുള്ള മുസ്ലിംകളെ സേവിക്കുക എന്ന ലക്ഷ്യത്തോടെ ഇസ്ലാമികകാര്യ മന്ത്രാലയം നടപ്പിലാക്കാനുദ്ദേശിക്കുന്ന പദ്ധതിക്ക് എല്ലാ പിന്തുണയും നല്കുന്ന സല്മാന് രാജാവിനും കിരീടാവകാശി അമീര് മുഹമ്മദ് ബിന് സല്മാനും ഇസ്ലാമികകാര്യ മന്ത്രി ഡോ. അബ്ദുല്ലത്തീഫ് അല് അശൈഖ് നന്ദി അറിയിച്ചു. ഇഫ്താര് വിഭവങ്ങള് വിതരണം ചെയ്യുമ്പോള് ഓരോ രാജ്യങ്ങളിലെയും ഗുണഭോക്താക്കളുടെയും വിതരണ തൊഴിലാളികളുടെയും സുരക്ഷ ഉറപ്പുവരുത്തുന്നതിനായി വേണ്ട കൊവിഡ് പ്രതിരോധ നടപടികള് സ്വീകരിക്കുമെന്ന് മന്ത്രി വ്യക്തമാക്കി.
Media
Court in India Grants Bail to Men Accused of Harassing Nuns

India – According to the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN), a court in India’s Uttar Pradesh state has granted bail to three Hindu activists accused of harassing two Catholic nuns and their students on a train.
On March 19, two nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart were forcefully removed from a train in Jhansi by a mob of radical Hindu nationalists. The mob falsely accused the nuns of trafficking two young women for the purpose of converting them to Christianity.
Although the two women show identification proving they were already Christian, the mob continued to harass the nuns and handed them over to railway police. The nuns were then marched to the local police station as the mob followed chanting obscenities and nationalist slogans.
Local church leadership eventually engaged with police to resolve the issue. However, the four Christian women had to leave Jhansi the next day disguised in civilian clothes.
Railway police arrested Ajay Shankar Tiwari, Anchal Arjaria, and Purgesh Amaria on April 2 in connection with the incident. However, these three men were granted bail by the Jhansi District Court on April 7.
UCAN reports that the decision to grant bail has brought mix reactions from Christian leaders.
“We can’t see it as a setback for us as there is a provision for people getting bail according to the Indian constitution,” Archbishop Felix Machado of Vasai told UCAN. “We should believe in the law of the land. It might take some time, but I believe that one day the accused will be brought under the law.”
Across India, impunity is enjoyed by many perpetrators of religiously motivated violence. In many cases, the perpetrators of anti-Christian violence falsely accuse their victims of engaging in fraudulent religious conversions to justify their attacks. Unfortunately, local authorities often accept these justifications as legitimate and allow perpetrators to escape justice.
Sources:persecution