Haliyal - North Kanara (Karnataka): Pastor Chandrakanth Kalappa Chavan (27), who belongs to the New Life Fellowship has been catering to the spiritual needs of about 60 believers during the last 4 years in Haliyal, a town in Uttara Kannada District of Karnataka and also regularly conducting the Sunday Services in a church called Haliyal Church housed in a rented building. He lives with his wife, Vandana (24), and a small 3 year old girl child.

On Monday, 23rd January ’12, Pastor Chandrakanth arranged for a prayer meeting at the residence of a believer, one Mrs. Manjula, in the evening at about 7.30 pm in a village called B.K.Halli about 3 Kms away from Haliyal. Pastor Chandrakanth was accompanied by a believer friend named Kishore Kavalekar, and about 20 believers attended the prayer service. But unfortunately just as the prayer was about to come to an end, about 20 RSS workers forced themselves into the house abusing and shouting at the believers using dirty and filthy language. Then they began ruthlessly to beat up and kick Pastor Chandrakanth and Kishore Kavalekar. The pastor was also stripped and taken in a procession naked throughout the village by the RSS activists and finally at about midnight they tied the pastor to a tree near a temple and then sent for the police from the Haliyal Police Station.
The Police Sub Inspector Umesh Shet came with a posse of policemen and took Pastor Chadrakanth and his believer friend Kishore to the Haliyal Police Station for further inquiry. Also both of them were detained during the night in the Haliyal police station. In the meantime the GCIC on learning about the incident immediately got in touch with the police officers early in the morning on Tuesday, 24th January. However due to the political pressures both of them have been charge-sheeted and sent to the jail. The situation is really very critical. The GCIC has also appointed a lawyer, Mr. Mujibir, to appear on behalf of the victims and to get them released at the earliest. Please pray for them.