Hindus refuse to believe that Christians did not kill Hindu leader; attacks continue

Even though a Maoist group has claimed responsibility for killing World Hindu Council (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples in Orissa state on August 23, his followers are determined to blame Christians for the killing. Saraswati was a rabidly anti-Christian agitator and his followers are following his example by rejecting claims by the Maoists to have killed him, continuing to insist that “militant Christians” were responsible, thereby justifying their week-long campaign of terror. At least 36 people (most of them Christians) have died in the violence and hundreds of churches and homes have been destroyed. At least two Christian orphanages have been burned to the ground.

Please continue to uphold the believers in Orissa in prayer during these days. Thousands have been displaced and many have fled to relief camps. There are also reports coming out of Hindus raiding Christian villages and being threatened with violence if they do not convert to Hinduism immediately.