KARNATAKA, INDIA (ANS) -- A group of Hindu radicals, accompanied by the local police, disrupted a Sunday worship service on Sunday, June 6, 2010, and arrested two lady pastors in Chickmangalur, Karnataka State, India. The town is located in the foothills of Mullayanagiri range and known for its coffee and tea estates.

Kadaur Devaki

According to the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), the incident occurred at around 10:30 am, as the worship service was ending. It was then that a few Hindu radicals barged inside the church and threatened the two lady pastors -- Lalithamma (62) and Kadaur Devaki (28) -- and accused them of creating “communal disharmony” and “disrupting peace.”

Lalithamma

According to the news source, they are both currently being held in the jail and are awaiting their trial.

It was also learnt from the news source that the police officers, under alleged pressure from the local political leader, have “foisted false charges against the two helpless lady believers.”

Note: The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) is an association of the concerned who have been anxious about the trends of intolerance triggered by religious fundamentalists in the Indian society. GCIC was established for the advocacy of freedom of faith and continues to lobby the agencies and people responsible at the local and national levels for upholding and implementation of the constitutional guarantees and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

James Varghese is a reporter for Masihat newspaper in India, and is also a freelance journalist working for ANS.