A Christian ice cream vendor in Kasur, Pakistan was allegedly beaten by a mob of about 30 Muslims recently after they contend he was selling unclean treats to children possessed with an evil spirit.

Khaleel Masih, 42, was beaten by the Muslim mob as he sold ice cream from a bicycle cart in Kasur. The assailants spat on him, punched and kicked him, and trashed his cart while hurling insults about his faith, the Express reports.

“They called me ‘Chora,’ an insulting word used for Christians,” he said.

“They then began accusing me of selling unclean merchandise to Muslim children.”

“I wanted to argue and make them understand that this wasn’t true but they didn’t listen to me,” Masih said. “Instead, they began to beat and torture me.”

The father of six was knocked unconscious as the mob work to “beat the evil spirit out of him.” After labeling Masih “an untouchable Christian,” the mob stole his money and left him bloody in the street, he said.

“These Muslims attacked my innocent husband while he was working. They say Christians have an evil spirit in them but we are peaceful and innocent victims who harm nobody? The Police ignored our pleas for help and I find this very demoralizing,” Masih’s wife, Nazia Bibi, told the Pakistan Christian Post.

“My children have always been bullied at school but now the bullying is worse, what have we done to deserve this?”

Masih identified two assailants in the May 17 beating – Muhammad Farman and Muhammad Rizwan – but local police were reluctant to do anything about the incident, according to the Global Prayer Network.

“He said that when he approached the local police station and reported the incident, the police should reluctance initially however, later an FIR was registered,” according to the site.

“He disclosed that the local influential Muslim leaders even tried to pressurize him, to remain silent over the incident and withdraw his complaint.”

The Muslim leaders allegedly offered Masih a safe life, a home, a new job and education if her converted to Islam, which he refused, the Express reports.

The Christian rights group International Christian Concern weighed in on Masih’s situation.

“Sadly, Masih’s persecution reflects the discriminatory religious and social structures that exist in Pakistan,” according to the group. “As a Christian, Masih is considered a part of the lowest social caste in Pakistan and is deemed ‘untouchable’ by some members of Pakistan’s Muslim majority.

“Those deemed untouchable in Pakistan are often ostracized by the majority community and are condemned to work sanitation jobs, cleaning and removing human waste. Since many Muslims in Pakistan believe Christians defile everything they touch, they forbid Christians to sell any sort of food to them.”

British Pakistani Christian Association chairman Wilson Chowdhry told the Express “the attack on an innocent man using his faith against him to settle a petty jealousy is normal in Pakistan.

“Although an ostensibly ‘democratic’ nation, Pakistan persists with laws, a constitution and an educational system designed to undermine minorities,” he said. “The result is this poor governance is great suffering in particular for the Christian minority whose plight in being ignored by Western governments and Christians in the West.”

“Sadly for this family it has meant a drastic upheaval in their demeaning but settled life while their attackers enjoy the full protection of the law,” he said.

It’s unclear what, if any, punishment his attackers could face as a result of the beating.

According to ChristiansInPakistan.com:

(Masih) said that followed by the incident he was filled with horror and aghast, and went into hiding. After the news of this incident was circulated by Christians in Pakistan, Senator Kamran Michael took notice of the incident and assigned a team the task of finding Khaleel Masih, which made a hectic search for him.

He said that currently, he is living under the protective guardianship of the Federal Minister for Human Rights Kamran Michael. “I am thankful to the Christian leader, as he stood by me,” he said. Khaleel Masih further disclosed that owing to personal intervention of Kamran Michael, an FIR has been registered against those who had tortured him based on religious loathing.

He said that Senator Kamran Michael provided him legal assistance, by hiring a lawyer on his behalf. He said the Federal Minister has vowed to help him in every possible way as required.