A church was demolished on Good Friday night without serving the notices, at Cherukuwada, Undi, WG dist, Andhra Pradesh sparking shock.
Cherukuwada is a village in Undi Mandal in West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh State, India in Andhra Pradesh. The demolition of the church during Good Friday night sent shock waves in the Christian community.
Chrisian Voice tweets: “Church demolished on Good Friday without serving the notices, at Cherukuwada, Undi, WG dist, AP. While the Case is pending in court, how come revenue dept demolish church at Night when pastor is in hospital?Build a Nee Church” (sic)
Church demolished on Good Friday without serving the notices, at Cherukuwada, Undi, WG dist, AP. While the Case is pending in court, how come revenue dept demolish church at Night when pastor is in hospital?Build a Nee Church @ysjagan @ncbn @CBNNews @UNHumanRights @wgodavarigoap pic.twitter.com/O3U5wjS1yH
— Christian Voice (@ChristianVoic10) April 8, 2023
Earlier, three churches in Assam were demolished. Assamese Christians emotionally declared they would die but will not move, as authorities tore down their churches and homes.
There were 103 Boro families whose homes were affected and there were three churches belonging to Roman Catholic, NELC, Lutheran, and Baptist churches bulldozed down in the area of Golgotha and Calvary Villages under Santipur Police in the Chirang District, Assam on January 30, 2023.
Allegededly, the authorities even destroyed their homes and crops.
With illegal constructions all around the country, Christians particularly feel targeted especially as this occured during Good Friday night, a special occasion which Christians observe.
India was ranked 15th in the world in terms of danger to Christians, up from 31st four years earlier. According to the report, it is estimated that a church was burnt down or a cleric beaten on average 10 times a week in India in the year to 31 October 2016, a threefold increase on the previous year.
In states such as Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, among others, according to the All India Christian Council, there was an attack on Christians recorded every 40 hours in India in 2016.
In a report by the Indian organization Persecution Relief, the crimes against Christians increased by 60% from 2016 to 2019. There are perhaps hundreds of pastors still languishing in jail for unclear reasons. There were 330 incidents in 2016, 440 incidents in 2017, 477 in 2018 and 527 incidents of hate crimes in 2019. The organization reported there has been a direct link between BJP gaining power in a state and an increase in the attacks against Christians in the state.
In the first seven months of the year 2022, over 300 attacks against Christians were reported across the country.