Murder of British aid worker baffles Indian police

The murder of Michael Blakey, a young British aid worker, in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, has baffled the Indian police as the people living in the region are peace loving.

Blakey's body was discovered, November 28, partly concealed beneath a pile of stones in a ditch near a small church on the outskirts of Dharamsala. He was last seen three days earlier leaving the St. John of the Wilderness Church, a Victorian stone church where Lord Elgin, the British Viceroy of India, was buried in 1863.

Blakey had arrived in Dharamsala in June to work for the Edinburgh–based Tong Len Charitable Trust, which works with displaced Tibetan children and families.

"The police have said that he may have died as a result of injuries inflicted by the stones. They do not have a motive. It is a peaceful area without any obvious threat. We have been told by the police that it is most likely that Michael was killed by someone unknown to him and possibly by more than one person," Anna Owen, directorof the Trust said.

"We all believe that this must have been a random and brutal attack and that Michael was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Rachel Owen, Blakey's friend and Anna Owen's daughter, adding that none of his friends and colleagues could think of any reason he was attacked.

Rachel Owen, who is married to a local Indian man, said she was "shaken up" by Blakey's murder and was now afraid to venture out on her own.

"People are generally not feeling so safe. It's a quite peaceful town and this kind of thing does make you feel unsafe and scared to go out at night," she said.

Indian police said that there was no obvious motive for the attack although his mobile phone and wallet were missing. They said that they had not made any arrests and were investigating several leads into the murder, which happened on November 25 or the day after, just before Blakey was due to fly home for Christmas.

Ajay Yadav, a police officer in the state of Himachal Pradesh, said they had "three or four theories" and hoped soon to have "conclusive evidence."

"We are questioning several people in connection with this case," he said.

"Investigations are on and we are hopeful of getting vital leads from the monastery room where the victim was staying. It is yet to be established why he was murdered," Santosh Patial, Additional Superintendent of Police said.

Police said the body bore face and head injuries apparently caused by repeated hitting with stones.

The murder has left the world stunned and grieving. Even as Blakey’s body was flown back to England for his funeral, more than 700 people from Christian, Buddhist and Hindu backgrounds took part in a ceremony in Dharamsala to mourn his death.

"It's amazing how many lives he's touched everywhere. The messages of support we've had from all round the world are unbelievable. We've had messages from China, Uganda, Kenya, the Philippines and India. Even the Dalai Lama has said prayers for Michael," Mary Whitford, Blakey's mother, said. "They had 12 days of mourning in the area where Michael worked."

"There were 750 people in the village and when they were bringing Michael's body back to Delhi, every single one of them came out to say goodbye," she recalled.

"Every mother is proud of her son but I was extremely proud of Michael," she said.

Blakey's father, Paul, was inconsolable. "If it was an accident it will be a bit more easy to live with. If he was attacked and murdered that would be such a sad, sad loss and very difficult to understand," he said.

Paul recalled that he had last spoken to his son early November when Blakey excitedly told him about the progress being made in vaccinating local children.

"He was extremely happy. He was recovering from a tummy bug but he was fine," Paul said. "He had made an inroad in getting the health authorities' treatment of the local children. He was very pleased."”

Meanwhile, friend and colleagues of Blakey are continuing to supply the local police with whatever information they have.

Dharamsala, a settlement of Tibetan refugees, lies at the foot of the Himalayas and is the long–term home of the Dalai Lama and is the centre of India's large Tibetan community.