Anand Shukla, an Udaipur police chief, told Reuters the two abductors had been identified. One was a Zer villager and the other a resident of Gujarat. The priests suffered minor injuries and were admitted to a hospital in Bijaynagar in Gujarat, Shukla said. No motive was given for the attack, but Gujarat has in the past been the scene of violent attacks on hristians, who make up about two percent of India's billion-strong population. Right-wing Hindu organizations have been blamed for the attacks.
Hindu leaders deny the charge.
They say forced religious conversions by Christian missionaries are responsible for unrest in tribal areas.