The two students, Chunile Wyn and Preeja Sushan, were attacked this month by some 70 "anti-Christian extremists" during a worship service they conducted in Orissa, said mission group Gospel For Asia (GFA), which runs the Bible college.
Troubles began April 13 when Wyn and Sushan, who are studying to become missionaries, were worshipping with 15 other believers, GFA said. While their fellow Christians "managed to escape the building" Chunile and Preeja stayed behind and were quickly surrounded by "radicals carrying sticks and stones shouting threats", GFA claimed.
"We will burn you alive like Graham Staines and his children!" they allegedly shouted at the women. Graham Staines, an Australian missionary in Orissa, was burned to death in 1999. An angry Hindu mob set fire to the vehicle Staines and his two young sons were sleeping in, killing them all.
CHASED AWAY
In this case, "extremists eventually let the women out of the church, but then chased them through the streets until the girls found a phone booth," GFA said in a statement monitored by BosNewsLife. They called their Bible college, and a pastor came to protect them, the group added.
"By the time he arrived, the extremist crowd had dispersed, leaving only threats that the women must never come back to their village."
In a statement the women asked supporters to pray "that they can continue their internships without fear," GFA said. "They also ask for prayer that the anti-Christians will realize Christ’s love for them and stop hindering the Gospel" and for the local pastor and local believers, the group added.
Hindu groups have stepped up attacks against devoted Christians in India, expressing concerns about the spread of Christianity in this mainly Hindu nation, churches and rights watchers say. (With reporting from India)
