TAB Media | September 20, 2020
A Christian mother of four was killed in July for refusing to let her daughter be raped by Hindu men.
Two masked Hindus slit the throat of 26-year-old Sunita Devi (name changed) in Regadi village.
Assailants then dragged Devi’s body to the jungle, placed it in a sack and dropped it in a river.
Police arrested four suspects. Two suspects were released; the other two confessed and were charged with rape.
Assailants had previously raped Devi’s daughter three times and assaulted three other Christian girls.
Christian sources say followers of the tribal Sarna religion, influenced by Hindus, persecute Christians. Police officials discount that such incidents constitute persecution.
Devi’s was one of eight Christian households in the village of 25 families. She was the fifth Christian killed in India in a two-month period.
Her husband has relocated the family due to ongoing threats against his family.
India is No. 10 on Open Doors’ 2020 World Watch List of places where it is most difficult to be a Christian.