A Christian hospital in Karnataka state, India, has been attacked after a patient complained about a Bible being left in his room.
Staff at Sanjo Hospital in Mandya district were preparing to discharge an elderly Hindu man on Sunday, March 1, when the controversy occurred.
According to International Christian Concern, the man asked a member of staff why a Bible had been left in his room. The hospital’s public relations office, Simon George, replied that the man was welcome read the book if he so desired. The day after the exchange, Sanjo hospital was viciously attacked by members of the Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh (RSS), a radical Hindu nationalist group.
The mob attacked George along with another hospital administrator, before accusing them both of blasphemy. The police later arrested the pair of Christian men, and have since denied them bail.
The brutal attack — combined with the shocking police response — has outraged the Christian community.
“There is nothing criminal or illegal about keeping a Bible in a hospital room,” Sajan K. George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians, told Asia News. “Also, no Hindu deity has been offended.”
“Christian missionaries who work in the medical and educational field are targeted every day by extremists who try to discredit their altruistic work,” he added. “Our Christian institutions serve mostly those who attack, abuse and assault us. May God forgive them for they know not what they do.”