HINDU MOB STORMS CHURCH, BEATS FAMILIES, POLICE ARREST THE PASTOR
On September 28, 2025, a Hindu extremist mob assaulted Christian men, women, and children during a church service in Nohar city, Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan state, India. Following the attack, police arrested the pastor and charged him and four other Christians with criminal offenses.
At approximately 10 a.m., several Hindu women entered the church building as the congregation was singing in worship, followed by Hindu men of various ages. Pastor Wazir Singh, 45, described the coordinated assault. "They let the Hindu women take the forefront. Hindu women attacked Christian women and Hindu men attacked Christian men," Pastor Singh told Morning Star News following his release from jail on October 4.
The mob forced Pastor Singh to sit and demanded he teach about Hindu deities such as Rama and Ganesha instead of Christ. They ordered him to read passages from the Ramayana or Mahabharata Hindu scriptures instead of the Bible. When Pastor Singh responded, "My faith is in Jesus Christ, and my country gives me the right to choose whom I want to believe in and freedom to practice my faith," the attackers called police and had him arrested.
Pastor Singh's wife and three other Christians were also named in the police complaint but were not arrested. "The three Christian men named in the complaint do not belong to my church and were not in my church at that time," said Pastor Singh, expressing surprise at finding their names in the complaint.
The assailants were from the area surrounding the church and were instigated by members of the Hindu nationalist Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Hindu nationalist umbrella group Vishva Hindu Parishad, which has an office in the area. Bajrang Dal members went to the police station and filed a formal complaint.
A First Information Report was filed under FIR No. 383 against Pastor Singh, his wife Metu Devi, Jaspal Parmar, and two others identified only as Pastor Vinod and Bala. The charges included "offenses of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place," "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings," and "unlawful assembly."
Officers took Pastor Singh to the Nohar police station and held him until the following day, when he appeared before the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), who remanded him to custody. When he appeared again before the magistrate on October 3, he was denied release after the judge examined a pamphlet presented as evidence against the pastor.
"My name and cell number were printed on it, and it read, 'Abandon all your idols and come to Jesus Christ,'" Pastor Singh said. "Looking at the pamphlet, she denied my release, and I was sent to jail." Pastor Singh denied that he or other Christians printed the pamphlets.
"The members of the Bajrang Dal got the pamphlets printed with my name, cell number, and this material to frame me," Pastor Singh stated. "Christians never print materials that demean other religions and uplift Christianity."
While in jail, Pastor Singh's fellow inmates conspired to assault him when they learned the reason for his arrest. "They said, 'He converts people,' and they attacked me, but the Muslim inmates stepped in and rescued me from them," Pastor Singh told Morning Star News. He was released on bail on October 4.
Following Pastor Singh's arrest, Hindu neighbors gathered and threatened his family. A group of women and men knocked at the door of his church building and residence. When Pastor Singh's wife, Metu Devi, answered the door, the mob stormed in and began to assault the 14 Christians inside who were supporting her and planning their next steps.
"The mob began to assault a Christian ruthlessly, and when an elderly Christian woman tried to rescue him, they hit her as well," Devi told Morning Star News. "They hit me and young children too. 'We will not let you stay here. If we find you here, we will assault you,' they said."
Though the Christians had been on good terms with their Hindu neighbors, the latter recently began showing signs of opposition. "When we would be worshipping in the church, they would start to play Hanuman Chalisa, a Hindu devotional hymn in praise of the deity Hanuman, on amplifiers and try to disrupt our worship time," Devi said.
The Hindu crowd grew more agitated while assaulting the Christians inside the church building, shouting, "Conversions have been happening in this house, so we will set this house on fire, along with whoever chooses to stay. If you want to live, flee from this house," Devi said. The wounded Christians fled for their lives.
"I fled from home with my children without any belongings and took shelter in the house of another Christian family about half a mile away for two nights," Devi said. The Hindu neighbors learned of their location and conspired to attack them. In the middle of the night, Devi and her two sons, ages 14 and 10, rode 80 miles to Haryana on a motorbike with another pastor.
Police seized Pastor Singh's house, his security IDs, and cell phone and did not return them even after his bail. "All my belongings are in the house, and we are left with nothing to live on," Pastor Singh said. He had lived in the house for more than two years following his move from his home state of Haryana 30 months ago.
"We as a family fled persecution in our hometown in Haryana and changed homes three times in Rajasthan after facing opposition every time, but nothing like what we went through this time," Pastor Singh said.
Pastor Singh and his family became Christians in 2018, converting from Hinduism after his wife was diagnosed with Hepatitis B and doctors had given up hope of her survival. A distant relative during a phone call told them about Christ, and they attended a church service. "We started to believe, and my wife was healed. I was able to get rid of all my bad habits like smoking and substance abuse," said Pastor Singh, adding that they joined a regular fellowship until he felt called by the Lord to start his own fellowship.
Devi said their children have been missing regular school since they fled their home. "I looked at my children and wondered how we will sustain, but then I found comfort in God's Word that says He will never forsake us," she said.
Following passage of Rajasthan's anti conversion bill on September 9, a coalition of civil society organizations condemned the legislation at a press conference in Vinoba Gyan Mandir, Jaipur, on September 26. The Rajasthan governor gave his assent on October 3, and the state brought it into force on October 29, making Rajasthan the 12th state with an anti conversion law.
Open Doors ranks India 11th on its 2025 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. India stood at 31st place in 2013 but has steadily fallen in the rankings since Narendra Modi came to power as prime minister. Religious rights advocates blame the increasingly hostile rhetoric of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, for emboldening Hindu extremists since Modi took power in May 2014.
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
A mob storms a church during worship.
Women beat women.
Men beat men.
Children watch in terror.
The pastor gets arrested.
This is India under Modi's government.
Pastor Singh's wife was healed of Hepatitis B when doctors gave up hope.
His reward for believing in Christ?
Beaten, jailed, framed with fake evidence, and stripped of his home.
Even Muslim inmates had to protect him from Hindu prisoners who tried to kill him for his faith.
The pastor and his family have fled persecution four times.
India has fallen from 31st to 11th worst place on earth for Christians in just 12 years.
This is what happens when nationalist governments decide which religions deserve dignity.
TAKE ACTION
1. International Christian Concern: Support persecuted Indian Christians at www.persecution.org or call +1 (800) 422-5441.
2. Morning Star News: Fund investigative journalism exposing Christian persecution in India at www.morningstarnews.org/donate.
3. Contact Indian Embassy: Call and demand protection for Christians and repeal of anti conversion laws. US: +1 (202) 939-7000. Email: info@indianembassyusa.gov.in.
4. Open Doors: Provide emergency aid to displaced Christian families in India at www.opendoorsusa.org or call +1 (888) 524-2535.
5. Pressure your government: Email your representatives demanding they sanction India for religious freedom violations. Reference Pastor Wazir Singh's case and India's ranking as 11th worst persecutor of Christians. Use #IndiaChristians #ReligiousFreedom.
