INDIA: Pastor Ambushed by Hindu Mob

Pastor Bhadikar Barshi was on his way to conduct a regular service at his house in the Barshi area of Solapur district in Maharashtra state on July 5th, when two youths approached him. Asking him to join them in a prayer for a friend who had been suffering from a sickness over the past 15 years, the young men walked alongside the pastor for some time until a Hindu mob ambushed him.

Bhadikar was violently struck with wooden clubs all over his body, including his head, where he received a deep gash on his right eye. His chest and back sustained most of his injuries, which received medical treatment at the hospital, and stitches were administered on the left side of his forehead. VOMedical covered his expenses during his eight days of hospitalization, which required bed rest and continued medication. The 48-year-old pastor was targeted by the Hindu radicals because of his missionary work in the region. Despite the intense Hindu opposition to Christianity in the Barshi area of Solapur, Bhadikar remains faithful in continuing his ministry.