Hindu Militants Attack Nine Churches In India State
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 (12:00 am)
By BosNewsLife Asia Service
NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife) — Suspected Hindu militants attacked nine churches in parts of India's southern state of Karnataka Sunday, September 14, as part of ongoing violent protests against the alleged conversion of Hindus into Christianity by missionaries, police said.
The violence in several coastal and other areas of Karnataka left at least left at least eight people injured, including two pastors, according to police investigators.
The militants were believed to be supporters of the Bajrang Dal, one of several hard-line Hindu groups in the country.
CHURCHES ATTACKED
Churches were attacked in areas that included the Singtagere, Magodu and Jayapura areas of Chikmagalur District in Malnad region, while prayers halls were raided by militants in regions such as the Udupi, Sirur and Mudur areas of Udupi district and in Mangalore, officials said.
Hindu militants were seen used motorcycles to “barge into prayer halls and ransacked them,†police said in a published statement, adding that additional reinforcements have been sent to the troubled state. Five suspects were reportedly detained Udupi in connection with the attacks.
In Mangalore, authorities have imposed curfews in several areas for the coming three days, amid fears religious violence may spread. It comes after weeks of anti-Christian violence in another state, Orissa, in which so far some 36 people have died, according to church officials. (With BosNewsLife Correspondents reporting from the region).
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