Published on: 1:48 am, April 29, 2016 Story By: Matters India reporter

Secunderabad: The apex body Telugu Christians has condemned a “vicious assault” on a Catholic bishop in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

According to a press release from the Federation of Telugu Churches (FTC) on April 28, Bishop Gallela Prasad of Cuddapah was attacked by unidentified person when he was returning from a religious function at Karunagari in Kadapa district.

The incident took place on April 25. Kadapa is some 425 km south of Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state.

“It is unbelievable that such a violent atrocity is perpetrated on a high ranking religious leader of a minority community,” says federation president Archbishop Thumma Bala of Hyderabad who has signed the press release.

Bishop Prasad and his car driver were “blind folded, forcibly confined and brutally attacked for several hours stretching through the night,” Arcbishop Bala said.

He condemned “the ruthless manner” of attack on a religious person who has “fully devoted his whole life to God and is totally dedicated to the service of the needy and marginalized.”

Archbishop Bala also appealed to police and law enforcement authorities to probe the case and arrest those responsible for “the heinous crime so that safety and security of minorities can be ensured and lives of leaders of religious communities be protected.”

FTC, which was earlier known as Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches, is the apex body of heads of major Christian denominations in the twin Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.