Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) strongly condemns the gang rape of two Christian women in Nadia village, Khargone district, Madhya Pradesh, and the attempts to force Christians in the village to surrender their faith.

At 10pm on 28 May, a group of five Hindu men dragged the wives of two Christians out of their homes, and gang-raped them. As the women's husbands tried to intervene, they were brutally beaten. Pastor Kailash Davar of Khargone described the attack as unprovoked.

The attack on the women came after the council of a neighbouring village attempted to force Gokharya Barela, the husband of one of the victims, to renounce his faith, and warned him to leave the village. According to a report by Compass Direct, the head of the Sirvil village council, Pandya Patel, then told villagers that they could rape the Christian women in the village, claiming that nobody would save them.

Nobody is known to have been arrested yet, although police are believed to be investigating the attack.

According to Dr John Dayal, Secretary General of CSW partners the All India Christian Council and a member of the government's National Integration Council, this attack "has to be seen both in terms of the religious intolerance of the Sangh Parivar and in the pattern of violence against women, the most vulnerable section of our society. On both counts, it must be condemned in the strongest of terms".

The attack is the latest example of the widespread and violent persecution of the Christian minority in Madhya Pradesh, which has continued unabated throughout 2006.

CSW's National Director, Stuart Windsor, said: "We strongly condemn this appalling attack against vulnerable Christian women, and our deepest sympathy goes to the victims. The pattern of violent attacks against Christians in Madhya Pradesh is a matter of grave concern. We call on the authorities to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and that the Christian minority across the state is protected from further assaults."

Notes to editors.

1. Sixteen Christians were last week acquitted by the courts in Alirajpur, Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh after facing charges including murder, attempted murder and arson following a week of communal violence against Christians in January 2004. Advocate Salavudeen Sheikh, counsel for the accused, outlined that Judge Shaida Bano Rahman had acquitted all sixteen Christians due to lack of evidence. He added: "It was a very tough case as the administration was hell bent on trapping the innocent victims."