By Matters India Reporter

Taran Taran, Sept 19, 2020: A pastor and his family were attacked with swords and butcher’s knives by a gang of religious goons in Taran Taran district of Punjab, a state in northern India.

“We were on our way back from a prayer meeting at around 10 pm. I sensed danger when I noticed three men following close behind us on their motorbikes, so I rode home faster,” Pastor Jeras narraged the September 17 incident to Persecution Relief.

When the pastor’s family reached their house, they noticed around ten people waiting at the gate.

The pastor’s daughter was at home as she had had not gone with them to a prayer meeting as kilometer away. “My daughter had locked herself inside the house,” the pastor said.

“Before I could even think of parking my bike, the men who were following me and the men who were waiting at my gate, pounced on me, my wife and my son and attacked us with swords, rods and butcher’s knives” he narrated.

The pastor shared photos of the wounds on their bodies with Oersecution Relief “The men beat us up and fled, leaving us bruised and broken. At 11:30, I rushed my family to the City hospital” he added.

The pastor has received 10 stitches on his head, 4 stitches on his arm, and 2 stitches on his ear. “My wounds are still bleeding. My wife suffered a broken arm after being mercilessly beaten with a rod and my son sustained deep wounds on his back and left arm,” the pastor said.

“We recognized a few of the goons who attacked us. So, from the hospital, we directly went to the local police station to make a complaint. We were shocked to see the goons sitting inside when we reached,” Jeras said.

The pastor explained that the police not only refused to register their complaint but instead, were very hospitable towards the goons as they work with the local MLA. “We stood at the police station begging for them to take our complaint, but even until 1:30 am, they did not pay any attention to us and refused to file our complaint” he added.

Instead of helping the persecuted Christians, the authorities entertained the persecutors. “Such cases of collusion are extremely common. Within the last 2 months, Persecution Relief has recorded 3 cases of Christian persecution in the state of Punjab,” says Shibu Thomas of Persecution Relief.