By Santosh Digal, BosNewsLife Asia Correspondent reporting from India
BHUBANESWAR, INDIA (BosNewsLife)– Relatives of a Protestant pastor who was found dead in India’s volatile state of Orissa have accused local authorities of covering up an investigation “into his murder.”
Local police said in a statement that an autopsy showed 45-year-old Saul Pradhan died January 11 after he “drowned” in Pakala village, located in Orissa’s turbulent Kandhamal Raikia Block area.
“The doctor who performed the autopsy said it was just an unnatural death,” not a murder, added Inspector Ravi Narayan Barik in a statement.
But Pradhan’s daughter, Taruma, and other relatives said the man’s body showed leg fractures and abrasions to his face and chest, in what they described as “a clear sign of aggression”.
Villagers claimed authorities have refused to prosecute two Hindu suspects in the case, identified by news reports as militants Marda Pradhan and Baiju Mallick.
ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE
The men, who are also building contractors, allegedly took part in anti-Christian violence in 2008, which killed scores of people and left thousands homeless. The pastor’s house was also demolished, church officials said.
“Before Saul’s murder, Marda and Baiuju had ordered the pastor to convert to Hinduism, threatening serious consequences for a refusal,” said Bijay Kumar Pradhan, vicar of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, who knew the pastor well.
Both men could not be reached for comment.
Church and Christian activists are demanding that justice is done. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, said he has invited all Christian villagers to gather evidence “against the killers in order to push the authorities to intervene.”
In recent days, Sajan George, president of the advoacy group Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), has urged India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to intervene.
Christians comprise roughly three percent of India’s mainly Hindu population of over one billion. There has been growing concern among rights groups about attacks against minority Christians by Hindu militants and mobs opposed to the spread of Christianity. (With editing by BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos).
