Church very worried after Christian killed in Orissa

Nearly four months after tension in Orissa's riot-hit Kandhamal had subsidized, the murder of a Christian last week has raised eyebrows on the security of Christians and claims of 'normalcy'.

On February 19, the body of Hrudananda Naik (40) was found in a forest near Ganjuguda village under G Udaygiri police station.

Local people claimed that Naik, a Christian, was living in relief camps after violence broke out in the district. However, a day after his return to the village, he was killed.

"Somebody may have hit him on the head, causing his death," District Superintendent of Police S. Praveen Kumar said.

Rabindra Parichha, a social activist, alleged that Naik among other Christian leaders were in the hit list of Hindu radicals.

Naik, he said, was the fourth Christian to be abducted and killed after violence ebbed down by the end of October. "The state should take strong action against the culprits," Parichha said.

According to Father Prasanna Singh, a parish priest in Kandhamal, the murder revealed to the world that violence against Christians still continue in sensitive areas under Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar diocese.

The murder committed during an afternoon has apparently shocked the Christians in the state, the prelate added.

Earlier this month the state government had announced the shut down of relief camps in Kandhamal district.

Despite Church leaders opposing the hasty decision of the government, the Kandhamal district collector announced the closure of several relief camps.

The National Council of Churches in India told Christian Today that victims in the state are reluctant to return to their villages, due to increasing 'religious segregation' and scurrilous threats demanding 're-conversion to Hinduism'.

Naik's murder is indeed a case in point to affirm that govt claims of 'safety' to Christians returning to villages are distrustful, the Church body said.

The outbreak of violence since August last year, has rendered thousands homeless, dozens murdered and hundreds of churches razed down.

The violence was sparked after Hindu fundamentalists accused Christians of slaying a local Hindu leader on August 23, 2008, for which the Maoists had repeatedly claimed responsibility.