Leader of militant Hindu extremist group turns to Christ following prison witness

NEPAL — The leader of a militant Hindu extremist group in Nepal, jailed for bombing a church in 2008, has repented because of the grace Christians in prison have shown him.

Ram Prasad Mainali, 37-year-old head of the Nepal Defense Army, was jailed in September for bombing a church in Kathmandu, the Compass Direct news service reported. A teenager and a new bride were killed and more than a dozen other people were injured.

Mainali began attending a Christian fellowship in Nakkhu Jail after he was transferred there in August. About a third of the prison’s 450 inmates attend services at the prison church. He said he began reading the Bible after experiencing the graciousness of prison Christians.

“Although I bombed the church, Christians come to meet me every day,” Mainali told Compass Direct. “No rightwing Hindu has come to meet me even once.”