The incident took place at the New Life church in Kowad village ahead of Christmas.

Five people associated with the right-wing group Bajrang Dal have been arrested for the attack that took place on December 23 (Sunday) at a church gathering in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

A group of around 40 people was offering prayers when around 15-20 people barged into the church. With their faces covered, they threatened the victims and attacked them.

The incident took place at the New Life church in Kowad village ahead of Christmas. Twelve people were injured in the attack.

Armed with swords, iron rods and glass bottles, the group attacked those attending the prayer.

Some women, who were part of the prayer meeting, forced the attackers to back off by throwing chilli powder at them.

A senior police officer from Kolhapur said, "The accused had carried out a recce on the church days before the attack and had properly planned and executed the attack."

He said that the accused hail from Belgaum in Karnataka. Based on CCTV footage, they were identified and after camping in Belgaum for a few days, the accused were identified and apprehended.

The accused are associated with Bajrang Dal and had travelled around 30 km to execute the attack.

Four more people have been identified by the police and a manhunt has been launched to nab them.