The body of a 46-year-old Pentecostal
pastor, with his head severed, was found next to his vehicle that had been set
on fire in the eastern state of Jharkhand.
While extreme Maoists appear to have claimed
responsibility, some local Christians believe the killers were mobilized by
right-wing Hindus.
About two dozen gunmen, their “faces
completely [covered] with a cloth bag,” kidnapped Abraham Topno – the pastor of
a congregation belonging to the Pentecostal Church of God – and later slit his
throat in Ranchi District of Jharkhand … according to his driver, Morning Star News reported.
A note found at the scene read, “Death
to police spy.”
The deceased had been ministering in
the area for about two decades.
Some eastern, central and southern
parts of India have been witnessing insurgencies by Maoists, who kill anyone
they suspect to be an informer to police.
Pastor Nuas Mundu, a senior pastor
from a nearby church of the same denomination, suspects that Hindu nationalists
were behind the murder. “We know that he
was a vibrant evangelist, a pioneer missionary, and we suspect that Hindu
extremists are behind his killing,” Mundu was quoted as saying. “Maoists will kill anybody for money, and if
someone pays them, they will do the job for them.”
However, some Christians think Maoists
are increasingly targeting Christians. Christian
persecution, which includes violent attacks, destruction of Christian property
and false accusations, has risen since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party won the general election in 2014. A
report by an evangelical group in India described 2017 as “one of the most
traumatic for the Christian community” in 10 years.
Last year was the worst since 2007 and
2008, when about 100 Christians were killed and thousands of homes of
Christians were burned down or destroyed in Orissa state’s Kandhamal district,
said the Annual Report on Hate Crimes against Christians in India in 2017,
released by the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of
India.
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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