A group of 70 Christians were attacked on 5 February whilst travelling home from the Third National Congress of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Three men on motorcycles targeted the bus and minivan in which the group was travelling, at approximately 12.15am at Anna Nagar, on the Bhavani Sagar Road, Erode, Tamil Nadu. The men verbally threatened the passengers before smashing the windscreens of the vehicles, causing injury to the driver and passengers, which included women, children and the elderly.
Pastor Paul Raj, one of the passengers, immediately called the police, who arrived at the scene 15 minutes later. A First Information Report (FIR), which is necessary to start an investigation, was registered against the perpetrators and investigations were initiated.
The Third National Congress of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches was attended by an estimated 100,000 people.
Local sources report that the attack was believed to have been perpetrated by religious extremists who were aware of the national congress and planned the ambush on the Christians.
