Source: www.persecution.org
Date: June 2, 2020
India (International Christian Concern) – On Thursday, May 28, Pastor Dinesh Kumar was brutally beaten by radical Hindu nationalists in the Mau district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Pastor Kumar was returning from a prayer meeting when he was attacked and remains unconscious in the hospital. Police are waiting for Pastor Kumar to recover 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 brutally attacked him with sticks and hit him on the head. These blows rendered Pastor Kumar unconscious.
The mob continued to attack until a local person noticed the situation. The mob fled the scene and local person then helped Pastor Kumar to his house.
“I was screaming out loud when I saw my husband,” Mamta, Pastor Kumar’s wife, told International Christian Concern (ICC). “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 was taken to the hospital where he received 16 stitches and remains unconscious. This was to contain the bleeding on his head and several other injuries. 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.
The police are waiting for Pastor Kumar to regain consciousness to proceed with taking a statement and starting the investigation into the attack. However, the assailants ran from the scene before they could be identified.
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for swift and complete healing for Pastor Kumar. Pray for the police to take necessary action following this incident. Pray for Pastor Kumar’s attackers to come to know Christ.