Sunday, September 17, 2006

Hindu activists massacre Dalit Christians in Jharkhand

From our correspondent

A dozen Dalits, including six members of a Christian family, are feared dead after Hindu militants attacked them as part of a violent campaign against Christians in Jharkhand on 28 August 2006.

The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), a major advocacy group, said six persons belonging to a Dalit Christian family were killed on a riverbank near Shivbigha village located in Palamau district of Jharkand on 28 August 2006. Militant Lalan Paswan of a nearby village along with his accomplices stormed the house of Ram Dinesh and captured all the seven family members, including four children.

GCIC, which has close contacts with local Christians in the region, said the militants accused the family of practicing voodoo and dragged them to the bank of the Sone River where they disappeared. Palamau Police Superindent Udayen Kumar Singh said the search for the bodies was going on. "Although the bodies were not found, the blood stains at six different places on the river bank lead to the conclusion that the criminals killed these people in cold blood and dumped their bodies in the river," the police official said.

Ram Dinesh, the only survivor, is undergoing treatment in a local hospital. More details about the victims are yet to be made available.

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