The spate of anti-Christian violence that began, following the killing of a Hindu leader on August 23 in Orissa’s Kandhamal district, continued on September 8, despite a stream of meetings by Christian and rights groups with high government officials.
On September 8, at least 20 houses were burned and 70 Christian families forcibly ‘reconverted’ to Hinduism in separate incidents in the eastern state.
According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), more than 20 houses belonging to Christians from the Orissa Follow-Up ministry (OFU) in Khajuripada village in Kandhamal were set on fire. The Rev. Dr. D.B. Hrudaya of the OFU told EFI that the whereabouts of the 20 families whose houses were destroyed were unknown and that he was ‘deeply concerned’.
