Officials and police in Tamil Nadu state, India, ordered ten churches to discontinue worship services in mid-October.
Hindu extremists compelled state officials and police to issue orders to the churches in Coimbatore District to stop worship unless they obtain permission from the collector’s office. It was reported that the extremists intend to target 20 others in the same way.
‘It is a well-planned conspiracy against the Christian community, as the Hindu extremists know that it is not easy to approach the collector’s office for such permissions,’ Pastor Johnson Sathyanathan, President of the Synod of Pentecostal Churches of Coimbatore said. ‘The time to get such approvals can stretch from a year and a half to many more years.’