Source:  www.assistnews.net

Date:  2007-12-27

By James Varghese
Special to ASSIST News Service

KARNATAKA, INDIA (ANS) -- About 50 believers from the End Time Full Gospel Church in Mangalore, India, were getting ready for their Sunday worship on December 23, 2007. This church is located on the second floor of building at Alfa Center, Kankanadi, Mangalore, in Karnataka state.

At 9.20 in the morning, about 30 Hindu fundamentalists reached the church on bikes and started destroying the furniture, window panes, and worship equipments. They destroyed Bibles and hymn books. The perpetrators then unleashed a reign of terror by brutally beating the believers including children attending the worship with chairs and sticks.

The following believers were injured. Joshua Mark, 10 years, Alex 14 years, Diekshid, 12 years, Praveen Kumar, 35 years, Ivan, 34 years, Sunil Sathyaveera, 32 years and J.K Ashirwadam 40 years.

Most of the believers sustained serious head and back injuries. The injured were initially treated in Wellock government hospital in Mangalore and were later admitted in Colaso Hospital Mangalore for special care.

Fourteen Hindu radicals belonging to a radical Hindu group were later arrested for attacking children and elders attending the Sunday worship.