ICC Note: Indian police have shot and killed five people, including two Christians in Kadhamal India, claiming that the officers confused them for Maoist rebels. Area Christian leaders say these killings of Christians is not isolated as low-caste believers face threats commonly. Police claim the Christians were caught in a crossfire between officers and Maoists. At least one officer has compensated the families financially. The story reminds of the 2008 Kandhamal riots where Hindu radicals killed at least 38 Christians, torching hundreds of villages across the region, blaming believers for the murder of Hindu leader Laxamananda Saraswati, a killing for which Maoist rebels had taken responsibility.

By Nirmala Carvalho

7/12/16 Kandhamal, India (AsiaNews) – Police in Kandhamal district, Odisha, opened fire on a group of people, mistaking them for Maoist guerrillas. Five were killed, including two Pentecostal Christians and a two-year-old child, and five more were wounded

Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) slammed the “killing of Christians under false pretense”.

“This is not an isolated case,” he told AsiaNews. “Dalits and Tribals are being killed all the time. Our people are not Maoist. They are struggling to survive and lead a life of dignity despite veiled threats and the climate of insecurity present in the district. ”

On Friday, the victims were returning from Baligunda market, where they worked thanks to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which offers manual jobs to adults without vocational qualifications.

Sajan K George explained that the group was ambushed by police, who were looking for rebels who had lately carried out night raids. As soon as people got out of their car, which had been stuck in the mud because of incessant rains in order to walk home to the village of Malapanga, the police opened fire.

These murders are a “sinister warning for Christians,” the Christian leader said.

For District Police Superintendent Pinak Mishra, the deaths were accidental. “Police received a tip that some rebels would be travelling on that road at night,” he said. “Together with the Central Reserve Police Force*, they laid an ambush for the Maoists. The car got caught in the crossfire between the two.”

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