International Christian Concern | Dec. 17, 2018
On November 11, a regular Christian gathering of nearly 600 people was shut down by police in Pure Pande Pululiki village, located in the Pratapgarh district of India’s Uttar Pradesh state. According to Pastor Rakesh Singh, the gathering was shut down after Hindu radicals falsely claimed he was converting Hindus to Christianity.
Pastor Singh, age 52, started preaching in Pure Pande Pululiki in 2013 and founded Vikas Jana Seva Sanstha. Since then, he has been leading worship there every Thursday and Sunday in a temporary tent on private land. According Pastor Singh, police came to Vikas Jana Seva Sanstha on November 11 during Sunday worship. They ordered him to stop the service and destroyed the tent. The police then took Pastor Singh to the police station.