Christians attending a church service on Sunday have reportedly been attacked by hundreds of radical Hindus in India.
According to International Christian Concern, 300 people are said by witnesses to have attacked members of the Bastar for Christ Movement Church in the Jaripara village, leaving nine members of the congregation injured and two in hospital.
A local pastor told the charity: "The attack on Jaripara's Christians is inhuman and highly condemnable.
"These attacks are popping up on the backdrop of the state elections that are nearing. The BJP, who is in power in the state, makes it all the more easy for the Hindu radicals to carry on the hate campaign against religious minorities for the political gains."
The church was also damaged and furniture was set on fire.
It is not the first attack on Christians in recent times in the country - there has been an escalation of violence since the election of the Hindu Nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (the BJP, 'Indian People's Party') in 2014.
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