Christian missionary found dead in Jharkhand

ICC Note

The body of the missionary was recovered from a well near a Muslim shrine. According to  the postmortem report, the death was caused by drowning.

By Babu Thomas

09/25/2010 India (Christian Today)-The Evangelical Fellowship of India expressed “deep sorrow” at the recent death of a missionary in Jharkhand.

The body of the young Shravan Kumar was recovered from a well near a Muslim shrine in Garwah District of Jharkhand on September 13.

Kumar worked with the Gospel Echo Missionary Society (GEMS) and was based in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh.

According to local sources, Kumar went missing from his home on September 10. On the following day he reportedly met with some workers in Garwah District, but no one knew of his whereabouts thereafter.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police Garwa AK Singh told EFI that the post-mortem stated the death to have been caused by drowning.

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The incident came a day after Hindu extremists allegedly beat up a Christian worker in neighbouring Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.

The extremists ordered the evangelist to “stop all Christian activities in the state or face dire consequences”.

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“The Church in India continues to face persecution from religious fundamentalists,” said Rev. Dr. Richard Howell, general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.

“Please pray for religious harmony to prevail and the Church to continue serving the nation,” he urged.

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