ASIA/INDIA - Protestant Pastor killed in Tamil Nadu

Chennai (Agenzia Fides) - The Protestant Christian Pastor C. Wilson, 54, was murdered in Tamil Nadu, in South India. His body was found last Saturday, June 2, near a highway and, according to police, his skull was fractured with stones. According to preliminary reports of the investigators, the Pastor, who led a Christian community in the city of Chennai, was traveling from Kanyakumari, where he had gone to preach, towards Chennai: He may have been stopped and killed a short distance from the road. Around the body there were pamphlets and newspapers of Christian content. The police are yet to ascertain the reasonwhy he was killed: one does not rule out a robbery, or a murder for reasons of religious hatred. Indeed, note sources of Fides, "Very often in cases of robbery victims are not killed so brutally."
Asked by Fides Agency, Sajan George, President of the "Global Council of Indian Christians," ecumenical NGO that monitors the situation of Christians in India, explains: "The religious Hindu fundamentalism has been gaining ground in Tamil Nadu: since the beginning of 2012 at least 5 serious incidents of attacks against Christians have occurred in the state." "We demand the intervention of state authorities to protect the rights and lives of Indian citizens who believe in Christ," concludes George. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 06/06/2012)