Suspicious Death of Pastor Praveen Pagadala Sparks Outrage and Calls for Investigation Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh – The sudden and mysterious death of Pastor Praveen Pagadala in Andhra Pradesh’s East Godavari district has triggered widespread protests and demands for a thorough investigation. The well-known evangelist, frequently seen on Calvary TV, was found lifeless by the roadside early Tuesday morning near Kondamuru, close to Rajahmundry. Pastor Praveen had attended a church event in Kovvur on Monday night and was last seen leaving for Rajahmundry. CCTV footage from a toll gate in Kovvur confirmed that he was riding his Royal Enfield motorcycle while wearing a helmet. Hours later, his body was discovered under circumstances that have raised suspicions of foul play. Mysterious Circumstances Raise Questions Despite early suggestions of an accident, several inconsistencies have led to speculation that his death may have been a targeted killing: No signs of a crash were found at the scene. His motorcycle bore no damage, and his helmet remained intact. No skid marks or debris were present, contradicting the accident theory. Photographic and video evidence reveal defensive wounds on his hands, suggesting he attempted to shield his face from an attack. His hands and face appear to be bludgeoned, raising further suspicion of a violent assault

India often bills itself as the world’s largest democracy. Meanwhile, Christians and other religious minorities continue to face harsh discrimination and brutal physical violence that ought to be unacceptable in any nation, especially a democratic one. As the United States engages with India as a strategic partner, the U.S. government should raise these human rights concerns and encourage the Indian government to take concrete measures to protect Christians and other minority groups from violence repeal laws that violate religious freedom. This article was originally published on https://www.frc.org/India#gsc.tab=0

During Thursday’s “Washington Watch,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins observed, “India, [the] largest so-called democracy in the world, is a place of great hostility and discrimination toward Christians,” and this persecution is only “growing ever more severe.” Despite the rising rates of hostility in that country, and the push Perkins made for reform during his time at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, India has not been recognized as a country of particular concern. As such, Perkins added, the “tools” needed for the federal government to confront this hostility are lacking, suggesting that “they’re turning a blind eye to the attacks and to the abuse and discrimination toward Christians and other religious minorities.” FRC’s Director of the Center for Religious Liberty Arielle Del Turco weighed in on the topic. Concerning this Christian persecution, she emphasized, “We don’t hear about it that often, but attacks against Christians are shockingly frequent.” As detailed in a new FRC publication, research has found that, “in 2023 alone, there were 687 reported incidents of violence against Christians in India.” Additionally, among other acts of persecution, “Indian officials consistently downplay violent attacks against religious minorities and fail to take adequate steps to protect them. In some

When the police arrived at the door of a pastor in Uttar Pradesh in February 2024, the first question they asked was “What religion do you belong to?” The police had received calls from Hindu right-wing groups claiming the pastor had lured locals to convert to Christianity, the pastor said. CT agreed not to use his name due to security concerns. The pastor told the police that he was a Christian, and they arrested him. When he arrived at the court, the district magistrate’s first question was the same: “What religion do you belong to?” “I am a Christian,” the pastor responded. “Do you have any idea that for this response, you will go to jail?” she said. The pastor stayed in prison for six months until he was released on bail. Charged under Uttar Pradesh’s anticonversion law, he is currently going through trial. The pastor’s arrest was one of the 640 verified incidents of targeted attacks against Christians in India in 2024, according to a new report by the Evangelical Fellowship of India Religious Liberty Commission (EFIRLC). The number is a 6.5 percent increase from a year earlier. The total number of incidents reported to the group, including those that haven’t been verified, was 840. In

More than 50,000 Christians in India's Arunachal Pradesh state gathered to protest a government plan to revive a stringent 40-year-old anti-conversion law, fearing its misuse to target and victimize them. “We oppose the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978 because it curtails our religious rights,” said Tara Miri, the president of the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF). Christians from all 29 districts and different church denominations turned up for the March 6 protest and "filled all our 50,000 chairs" in an open ground state capital, Itanagar, Miri told UCA News on March 7. “There are 46 Christian denominations in the state, and members of all of them joined the protest because we feel the state government should not implement the law,” Miri said. The anti-conversion law was first introduced in 1978 to protect the traditional religious practices of indigenous communities from external influence or coercion. But it remained dormant for over 45 years as successive governments failed to frame the rules. On Sept. 30 last year, the Gauhati High Court’s permanent bench in Itanagar directed the state government to finalize the rules within six months after a public interest litigation by a citizen against the government’s failure to enforce the law. The law prohibits religious conversion "by

The chief minister of an Indian state has said he plans to amend a law to provide capital punishment for those engaged in religious conversions, increasing safety concerns among Christians and Church workers in central India. Mohan Yadav, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, told a public meeting in the state capital Bhopal on March 8 that he plans to amend the state's existing anti-conversion to punish those engaging in forced or fraudulent religious conversions with the death penalty. He said the state has legal provision to punish those who rape minors with death penalty. In a similar line, the state will punish those engaged in religious conversion through fraudulent means with the death penalty. "Religious conversion will not be tolerated," Yadav asserted amid loud applause from the audience in the state, known as the hotbed of anti-Christian violence in the country. Christian leaders say Yadav's announcement makes Christian life even more dangerous in a state where a Hindu-leaning government continues in power. "It is like adding fuel to the fire," says Jerry Paul, national president of the Sarva Isai Mahasabha (All Christian Federation) based in Bhopal. He said Hindu activists, who support the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), "have been unleashing a wave of targeted attacks

Marbom Tasar’s story is well known among the Christian community in Arunachal Pradesh, a state in Northeast India that shares a disputed border with China. Tasar and his business partner, Tai Tatu, became Christians in 1968 while staying with Tasar’s Christian relatives in Roing, a town in northeastern Arunachal Pradesh. They then made the 160-mile return trip their village, Lete, to share the gospel with their fellow Gelo tribesmen who practiced animism. Soon after they arrived, Tasar found that homemade wine had caused severe dysentery in several villagers. Tasar went from house to house, praying for the sick and witnessing miraculous healings, according to his daughter, Bomto Paipodia. The families of those who were healed accepted Christianity, and Tasar began the work of building a church for three local villages. Two months later, tribal leaders and villagers, upset over the conversions, burned down the church. To curb further spread of Christianity, the police arrested Tasar, Tatu, and another believer. “For us, persecution started right from the time we carried the gospel to our village and the neighboring villages,” Tasar said. In the 1970s, Tasar faced more arrests and harassment. He fled deep into the forest and slept in trees to evade capture. Authorities tortured some

As of this week, a newly enacted anti-conversion law requires people in India’s Rajasthan state to give two months’ notice to the government if they plan to change their religion voluntarily. Further, the “converter,” or the person performing the conversion ceremony, must also give the government a month’s notice of his intention to perform the ceremony. The Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2025, has made the procedures for conversions exhaustive and lengthy to stop unlawful conversions. Failure to involve government authorities in voluntary religious conversions could lead to up to three years in jail and a minimum fine of 10,000 rupees ($115). The new law states that a prescribed declaration form should be submitted to the District Magistrate (DM) or the relevant authority 60 days before the person wants to convert voluntarily. If the converter violates the law, it could lead to up to five years imprisonment and a minimum fine of 25,000 rupees ($289). An officer not below the rank of Additional DM will “get an inquiry conducted through police with regard to real intention, purpose, and cause of the proposed religious conversion.” Then, within 60 days of conversion, the converted person must send a declaration in a prescribed form to the

Fifty Christians were attacked during a Sunday service in Rajasthan state in western India, when a group of about 200 people stormed a church building in Bikaner city. Several attendees sustained injuries after being struck with iron rods, and the assailants vandalized the property before police arrived. In the attack, which took place near the end of the service, three worshipers were severely injured on Feb. 16, while many others bore bruises across their bodies, reported the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide last week. The pastor of the church, who asked to remain anonymous due to security reasons, said a new member had attended the service that day and was seen sending messages minutes before the mob entered the church, at which point he ran out of the building. The attackers left hastily when police arrived at the scene. Police questioned the injured Christians afterward and accused them of forced conversions. The pastor’s children were cautioned that they should not turn out like their father. Local authorities then escorted the pastor, his spouse and a few other Christians to the Mukta Prasad police station, where the mob’s accusations of forced conversion were examined. The pastor and his companions were not charged, as evidence of

India's federal body to protect religious minorities' interests has urged the government in the central Chhattisgarh state to ensure Christians' safety after a right-wing Hindu man allegedly mobilized a movement for anti-Christian genocide. The Feb. 25 letter of the National Commission for Minorities referred to the "disturbing call for violent attacks against Christians" in Chhattisgarh on March 1 and asked the state to protect Christians. "We are relieved now," said A C Michael, the Christian leader who brought the threat to the notice of the quasi-judicial federal body. Michael is the national coordinator of the United Christian Forum, an ecumenical body that records persecution against Christians in India. The commission said Michael highlighted an "incendiary" social media post attributed to Adesh Soni, a self-proclaimed cow protection vigilante, that called for sexually assaulting and murdering Christians in the state. The video also contained a snippet of Soni speaking at a gathering of religious leaders and referring to a planned March 1 rally in the state to protest cow slaughter, it said. The social media post and the snippet of Soni together gave the impression "that he was mobilizing a movement for genocide against Christians," said the letter addressed to the state. The federal body said Soni has