India Christian Boy “Beheaded”, Christian “Stoned” By Hindu Militants, Missionaries Say
By BosNewsLife News Center
NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife) — Tensions remained high Monday, July 30, among Christians in the Indian state of Kerala amid reports that the body of a 14-year-old Christian boy was found on the railway track near a Christian school while another Christian was allegedly killed by Hindu militants, missionaries said.
Salem Voice Ministries (SVM), an evangelical mission group, said the boy was discovered this month near the All Saints College in Kerala’s capital Thiruvanandapuram. The boy, identified only as Nithin, was a student at St Josephs Higher Secondary School, the group said.
Details remained sketchy Monday, July 30, but police reportedly launched an investigation amid concerns of attacks by Hindu militants against Christians in the state. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the murder but religious motives have not been excluded.
The boy leaves behind his parents and a sister, who studies at a nursing school in the city of Bangalore, Christian rights investigators said. It came as news emerged that another Christian, 50-year-old Paulraj, was “brutally murdered” last Monday, July 23, SVM said.
SEVEN HINDUS
“A group of seven Hindu youth entered into the Christian house and killed the house owner [Paulraj] on July 23” in the area of Helibriya in Kerala state, SVM added. The killing came apparently several days after a dispute erupted when the Christian’s cow entered the cultivated land of a Hindu neighbor.
“In connection with this incident, Prince, the younger son of Paulraj and Soman, the son of Raju had a fight on Monday evening. Suddenly Raju gathered his team and they entered the house of Paulraj to kill him. Paulraj tried to escape when the attackers came to the house, but they stoned him and they beat him to death with steel pipes and sticks,” claimed SVM.
Human rights groups have reported growing tensions in areas where Hindu militants claim Christianity is spreading, especially in rural areas of India. (With reports from India).
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