pastors K. Daniel and Isaac Raju in Hyderabad, southern India, a Christian news agency reported late Monday, July 11.
Compass Direct said Kokala Govardhan, told police he was inspired by Dara Singh, a Hindu activist who has been convicted for murdering Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, ages 11 and 7, in January 1998 in Orissa state.
Christian groups have now called for Dara Singh’s life sentence to be changed to the death penalty as a warning to extremists. Staines’ widow, however, has maintained her stand of total forgiveness. "If we don’t forgive men of the wrong that they do, then how can we be forgiven?" she reportedly said in a recent interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
However Kokala Govardhan made clear he saw no reason for forgiveness. "By killing the two pastors, we wanted to show the world that whoever tries to convert Hindus to Christianity will meet the same fate," Compass Direct quoted him as saying.
BODIES FOUND
The body of Pastor K. Daniel, a preacher from Kummarvadi, was found on the outskirts of Hyderabad, the capital of the troubled Indian state of Andra Pradesh, on May 20, bearing marks suggestive of an acid attack. The body of Pastor Isaac Raju, who went missing on May 24, was found on June 2.
Police arrested Kokala Govardhan, who confessed to the killings, in the third week of June. Two other accomplices are still on the run, Compass Direct reported. Police also said they had arrested five other suspects and claimed the men had drawn up plans to kill other Christian ministers, news reports said.
Govardhan could expect life imprisonment, which analysts say normally run for a maximum of 14 years in India. In a controversial move, the Global Council for Indian Christians (GCIC) plans to file a review petition in the Supreme Court, asking that Singh’s life sentence be changed to the death penalty, Compass Direct reported.
REQUEST FOR SECURITY
The GCIC has also urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to provide adequate security for Christians in India. In a petition to him the organization said "the well-orchestrated attacks against Christians are aimed at intimidating Christians … [and pushing] radical Hindus to keep the pot of hatred boiling all the time," reported Compass Direct.
The All India Christian Council also supported the petition, although its president, John Dayal, has made clear he was against the death penalty. "We have always said that the award of a life sentence to Dara Singh would have serious consequences," Dayal reportedly said. “What greater evidence do we need than this case, where the killer himself is saying that Dara Singh inspired him?"
Dayal said, he strongly supports the petition of the GCIC. "Exemplary punishment should be given to people like Dara Singh," he added. (With reports from India and Compass Direct).
