Pastor’s Family in India Threatened and Attacked by Village and Forced to Relocate Shelter

Radical Hindu Nationalists and local villagers force pastor's out of village
Radical Hindu Nationalists and local villagers force pastor's out of village |

Radical Hindu nationalists allegedly made death threats and attacked a Pastor's family living in the Nabarangpur district of India's Odisha state.

On July 10, Pastor Fulmali was threatened with the following statement according to local sources, "You have received the Christian religion, built a church in the village, and converted some of our villagers to Christianity. We will not allow you to reside in the village. We will kill and burn all of your family members."

As threats were being made, heavy stones were thrown at Pastor Fulmali's home which resulted in broken roof sheets of over five rooms.

Pastor Fulmali and his family stayed inside their house and did not leave while the Hindu nationalists did not budge from the outside of Pastor Fulmali's house until 3:00 A.M., waiting for an opportunity to attack the Pastor physically.

While sheltering in the house, Pastor Fulmali called their local police for help but the police delayed until the next day despite their promise to arrive in two hours due to lack of means of transportation.

This wasn't the first time Pastor Fulmali was attacked. 6 months before this belligerent attack, Pastor Fulmali was aggressively requested by the local villagers to close the church and remove the cross while banning Fulmali and other local Christians from collecting water from the village bore well.

For the family's safety, Pastor Fulmali has taken shelter in another pastor's house away from the belligerent village.