Nizamabad: A makeshift prayer hall belonging to the Christian community in Gopanpally village of Nizamabad in Telangana was burnt down by unknown people.
The Nizamabad Superintendent of Police said that the village Panchayat had objected to the construction of the prayer hall, following which unknown people burnt down the hall late at night on Friday.
The police is yet to make an arrest but a case has been registered.
According to reports, earlier a local pastor and members of his congregation in Nizamabad were beaten by a mob of 40 Hindu radicals after they allegedly tried to convert Hindus to Christianity.
The attack, which occurred during a prayer gathering, resulted in the hospitalisation of six persons, including a four-year-old girl whose leg was broken, according to locals.
"It was a very scary scene. They tore my cassock and I received blows, punches, kicks from all directions as I was their prime target. Bibles were snatched from us and were torn and trampled. Believers ran in all directions as they were chased by the mob," Pastor Nitin Kumar said.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MP K. Kavitha on Sunday asserted that the incident seemed more like an 'accident' but assured that state government will never let such atrocities happen on minorities.
"It was not something unwanted that happened. It is true that a prayer hall was burnt down and investigations are underway. But until we are in Nizamabad and Telangana, we will not let such atrocities happen on minorities and will take care of them and treat them like equals," Kavitha said.
Reiterating that the incident looked more like an accident to her, she added that if there was a hint of involvement by any unwanted elements, then they would not be spared.
"Attacks on minorities will be taken seriously but this case does not look serious in nature, as in that area, we have allotted lands to Christians, Muslims and Hindus to construct prayer halls," she said.
Last Sunday a Pentecostal church in the Chhattisgarh state was also attacked during prayer services by a mob, believed to have been a part of the Bajrang Dal organisation.
