INDIA 3 more are arrested in attack of preacher

The Pennsylvania man and other preachers have insulted Hindus, a Hindu nationalist contends.
TRIVANDRUM, India (AP) -- Police said they have arrested three more Hindu nationalists accused of attacking an American missionary and seven others in southern India this week.
Police investigator D. Raja Gopal said today three members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were arrested Thursday in Kilimanoor, a suburb of Trivandrum, capital of southern Kerala state.
A fourth man, a former RSS official, was arrested shortly after the Monday night attack on Joseph William Cooper, 67, of Neshannock Township, which is near New Castle, Pa., and another preacher and his family as they walked along a paddy on the outskirts of Trivandrum.
The RSS, whose name means National Volunteer Corps, opposes Christian missionaries and Western influence in India and is an ideological partner of the party that heads India's government.
Police said nearly 10 men attacked Cooper and the others as they headed for their car after a church gathering.
"We expect to make some more arrests over the next few days," said Gopal.
Missionary's account
Cooper, who is recovering from surgery for a deep cut on his right hand, said he is a bishop in the New Jerusalem Universal Church and was making his 14th visit to Kerala. He said he was attending a preaching event organized by the Pulliyam Friends Bible Church in an area inhabited by families of India's lowest caste.
Cooper said he had come "to preach the gospel and strengthen the church."
"I've no ill feeling toward the activists. I have only sympathy for them," Cooper said Friday.
Police said the Hindus and Christians in the area had no history of religious tension.
The attackers fled when church members rushed to help the victims.
Accusations of insults
R. Santhosh, a local RSS leader, said his organization had nothing to do with the attack. He accused Cooper and other preachers of making speeches that were insulting to Hindus.
Hindu hard-liners have been increasingly attacking Christians since Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 1999. The Hindu nationalists accused missionaries of converting poor Hindus by offering money. Christian organizations deny the charge.