ASIA/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Murder of an Indian Christian doctor: religious motivation is excluded

Friday, 9 November 2012

Abu Dhabi (Agenzia Fides) - There is no religious motivation or Islamic fundamentalism behind the murder of a Christian Indian doctor Rajan Daniel, who was killed on November 2 in the UAE. The man was killed with numerous stab wounds by the Pakistani Mohamed Abdul Jamil, in the Ahalia Hospital in Abu Dhabi, where he worked. Once the medical examination was completed, the body was repatriated and arrived yesterday morning in Thiruvananthapuram (in the Indian state of Kerala). Dr. Daniel was a Christian, a member of the Salvation Army community. The funeral is celebrated today, November 9, in the Hall of his community in the village of Kavadiar, in Thiruvananthapuram. Speaking to Fides, Fr. Stephen Alathara, Secretary of the Board of Catholic Bishops of Kerala, on behalf of the Episcopate "condemns the killing, which occurred while the doctor was carrying out his mission, his professional service", calling for a "prompt investigation", stating that the Bishops "pray for his soul and for his family, but also for his murderer."
Fides sources in the Christian community in the UAE note that the leaders of the Churches in the Arabian Peninsula have not said anything about the case, but the story is slowly becoming clearer. The murderer, in fact, was Dr. Daniel’s patient, who had been treating his problems for about three months. According to the investigators, the man was unhappy because, he said, the therapy assigned by Dr. Daniel did not improve his situation. For this reason, in a fit of rage and madness, he killed the doctor. The police informed that Mohamed Abdul Jamil, who was arrested immediately after the mad gesture, is charged with premeditated murder and that two days ago he attempted suicide in prison, giving clear signs of mental imbalance. He will therefore be subjected to a psychiatric examination. The mental instability, rather than religious motivation, therefore explains the murder. Fides sources report that the doctor, originally from Kerala (South India), was very religious and, during his breaks at work, he read the Bible. Shortly before he was killed, said one of his patients, he had meditated on the Scriptures. The man leaves his wife and daughter. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 09/11/2012)


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