Brahmanandam needed several stitches on his head after a Hindu extremist mob beat him with wooden sticks.
Five students from a Gospel for Asia Bible college in Maharashtra, India, are recovering in a local hospital after members of the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu fundamentalist group, attacked them on Sunday (February 18) while they were sharing the Gospel. Doctors are thoroughly examining the young men in order to determine the extent of their injuries.

The incident occurred when the students, Elisha, Suresh, Mishak, Brahmanandam and Kartik, went out for their usual evening evangelism. They traveled to a nearby village and, after requesting permission to distribute tracts, began sharing their faith on the streets.


After they witnessed for about 30 minutes, the anti-Christian group ran to them and began beating them with wooden sticks. The mob grew to more than 40 people before the attacks ended.

“In spite of all the pain and agony, there was joy in their faces—joy that they could suffer for Jesus,” said a local GFA leader after visiting the students in the hospital this week. “This event does not discourage them; instead, they want to see the people who attacked them come to know Jesus.”

Kartik suffered severe head injuries.
Elisha was severely beaten on the face and back, and Suresh received extensive hand injuries. The mob beat Mishak on his head and body, and Brahmanandam and Kartik each received head injuries that required stitches.

The evening outreach the young men were participating in at the time of the attacks is part of their daily routine. Each weeknight and weekend the students have been witnessing in nearby villages.

Read more about the increasing persecution GFA missionaries are facing: