Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil,
President of India
The persecution and suppression of Christians in India has taken a new dimension with the recent murder of a pastor and deadly assault on his wife.
According to the Regional Manager for Africa and South Asia, International Christian Concern (ICC), Jonathan Racho, Pastor Pangi Papa Rao and his wife, Chittamma, were returning from a prayer meeting when the masked communists (Maoists) stopped them and the pastor told them his name and explained that he and his wife were returning home from a prayer meeting.
“As soon as they heard the pastor’s name, they murdered him in front of his wife and severely beat her. The communist rebels decapitated and cut up his body after murdering the pastor,” Racho said.
He noted that the communists gave a statement to the local newspaper that they were responsible for the pastor’s death. “They said they had killed him because the pastor was an informant for the government of India. They warned others that they also would receive the same kind of punishment.”
Racho said that the pastor was a dedicated Christian and never worked as an informant of the government. He is survived by his wife and 19-year-old daughter. Pastor Rao’s church had close to 40 members; the congregation now attends a nearby church.
“We are deeply saddened by the murder of Pastor Rao. We strongly condemn the brutal murder of the pastor and the assault of his wife. We urge Indian officials to protect its citizens from such heinous crime,” he added.
It’s to be noted that the communist (Maoist) rebels have been fighting the government of India for several years. They have strong support among landless farmers and tribal groups.
ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. It provides awareness, advocacy, and assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church and for more information, log on to their website: http://www.persecution.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment