Mau, June 2, 2020: A Christian pastor was beaten by alleged radical Hindu nationalists in the Mau district of Uttar Pradesh, northern India.
Pastor Dinesh Kumar was returning from a prayer meeting on May 26 when he was attacked. He remains unconscious in a hospital.
Police await Pastor Kumar to gain consciousness to take a statement before starting the investigation.
According to local sources, several unidentified individuals followed Pastor Kumar on motorcycle as he was returning home from the prayer meeting. They attacked him with sticks and hit him on the head. The blows left Pastor Kumar unconscious.
The mob fled on seeing a local person approaching them. The person then helped Pastor Kumar to go to his house. He received 16 stitches.
“I was screaming out loud when I saw my husband,” Mamta, Pastor Kumar’s wife, told International Christian Concern. “My mind went blank and I had no words. I thought something fatal took place looking at him with no movement.”
“I remembered he used to tell me, ‘I am in the ministry and committed to taking the Gospel to the people. I know the cost and some time it may be my life’,” Mamta explained.
Pastor Kumar and his family serve as church planters in the Mau district of Uttar Pradesh.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, several incidents of persecution have been reported from this area.
Source: Persecution Relief