Kidnapped Indian Church Pastor Beheaded
A 46-year-old Pentecostal church pastor who was kidnapped in the eastern state of Jharkhand, India, has been found dead with his head severed.
According to the Christian Post, 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 on Tuesday night, according to his driver.
A note found at the scene read, “Death to police spy.” The deceased had been ministering in the area for about two decades.
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. Maoists will kill anybody for money, and if someone pays them, they will do the job for them,” Mundu said.
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.
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