A Christian pastor in India was reportedly beaten to death in the east Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh state by hundreds of Maoist rebels who thought he was a police informer.

Fides News Agency reported that Pastor Yohan Maraiah was killed on July 29 by Maoists, who left a note at the murder scene accusing him of being "a police informer" and "accumulating disproportionate wealth exploiting Tribals."

Sajan K George, chairman of the Global Council of Indian Christians, said this was not the first time the pastor had been targeted. more >>

At least 22 people are believed to be missing as two state transport buses fall off the collapsed bridge along the Mumbai-Goa road in India. Two dead bodies have been fished out of the water.

In a statement, Raigad ASP Sanjay Patil said that two busses were traversing the bridge when the bridge gave way. Another eyewitness say that two cars were seen being swept away by the raging waters.

Authorities say that the flooding of the Savitri river could have been the cause why the bridge suddenly collapsed. India has been battling heavy rains the past few days. more >>

Christians living in Hunter village in the Indian state of Jharkhand are facing dual threats from police who are barring them from worshiping and Hindu radicals who are threatening to kill them.

"[Because] Christians are still worshiping Christ even after they had received severe beatings, they were now going to kill them," Pastor Sanjay Kumar Ravi told Morning Star News on Thursday.

In the news report Ravi shares the story of Gunni Bhuiya, a Christian man, who earlier in June was stopped and told by Hindu extremists that followers of Christ will be severely punished if they don't stop practicing their faith. more >>

Hindu extremists have beaten and tortured 29 Christians who refused to deny their faith in Christ in the village of Katholi in India, reports say.

The Express reported on Tuesday that the radicals also destroyed several Christian homes, and forced dozens of believers to flee the village.

The Hindu extremists apparently set up rituals aimed at converting the Christians into Hindus, and held a public meeting where they gathered believers. After the Christians, which included men, women, and children, refused to convert, however, they were beaten and tortured. more >>

A Christian convert who refused to stop worshiping Jesus Christ was kidnapped, tortured and left for dead by a group of Hindu radicals in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, a Christian persecution monitor has reported.

Hindu extremists in the the area of Tewardih, Varanasi kidnapped the 30-year-old Christian convert named Joginder Gold after frequently demanding that he and his family stop worshiping Christ.

Gold told Morning Star News that the extremists kidnapped him around 11 a.m. on April 9 while he was on his way to the market to sell vegetables. more >>

A Protestant church in Jabat, in Madhya Pradesh India, was attacked by a mob of 500 Hindu extremists who threw stones at Christians and damaged the church's entrance over an allegedly torn nationalist flag.

AsiaNews reported on Thursday that the radicals were apparently incensed when they discovered that saffron-colored flags, the symbol color of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, placed outside the church had been torn.

The activists reacted by throwing stones at believers at the church, with Meena Chauhan, superintendent of Alirajpur district police, claiming that authorities immediately registered the complaint and sent in a patrol to start making arrests. more >>