In one of the latest incidents Monday, September 22, a Catholic priest and his female assistant were found murdered in Dehradun district of the northern state of Uttarakhand, Catholic media reported. The 60-year old Father Francis Samuel of Meerut diocese, also known as Sadhu Astey, and the volunteer identified as Mercy, 32, were reportedly found strangled to death at their prayer center in Chotta Rampur village.
The murders came amid reports of widespread anti-Christian violence in the states of Orissa and Karnataka, which are ruled by the Hindu hard-line Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or ‘Indian People’s Party’. Uttarakhand state is also ruled by BJP, which Christian leaders claim tacitly support violence against Christians.
It came shortly after a young Christian woman was reportedly gang-raped by unidentified rioters Sunday night, September 21, and a man was allegedly killed on Friday, September 19 in the state of Orissa where dozens of Christians have died since violence erupted one month ago.
TAKING REFUGE
Iswar Digal, who had taken refuge at Ghumusar Udayagiri relief camp and was believed to be Christian, went missing after he went to meet his ailing father in Gatingia village on Friday, September 19, Indian media reported. His wife, Runima Digal, reportedly told police that Hindu extremists killed her husband after he had gone to the village along with her to visit his father.
Hindu militants allegedly warned them not to return to the village if they did not convert from Christianity to Hinduism. Over the weekend, there were also attacks reported in the Catholic stronghold of Kerala, while in the state of Karnataka a nun was allegedly beaten by police.
News of the latest incidents come amid mounting international pressure on the Indian government to intervene and find those responsible for the attacks. They began after the killing of a Hindu leader and four of his followers on August 23 in the state of Orissa. Although Maoists claimed responsibility, Hindu militants blamed local Christians saying they were angry because the Hindu official opposed their attempts to “forcefully convert” Hindus to Christianity.
