Pastor found dead in the Indian region of Punjab
A pastor was found dead in the Ferozepur district of Punjab state in northern India. The body of Pastor Balwinder Bagicha Bhatti was discovered by some people by the roadside in Zira Tehsil on the 27th of July, reports Persecution Relief, an ecumenical group monitoring attacks on Christians in India.
Joseph and Alisha, Persecution Relief coordinators in Punjab, visited the family to express their empathy and to extend support to the bereaved family in the best ways possible.
The slain pastor’s sister told the Persecution Relief coordinators in Punjab that her brother was returning from a village after visiting a Christian home. “At around 8:45 pm, a few people came and told us that they had seen my brother lying bleeding beside the road,” said the woman, who lives with the pastor’s family.
Hanook Bhatti, a Persecution Relief coordinator in Punjab, said footprints of blood were seen on the road when he went to spot the following morning. The family believes that the pastor was assaulted and killed when he tried to escape. The family found him with his clothes tattered and his shoes scrapped as if he was dragged and beaten, the coordinator explained.
The police have recorded a case of accidental death which the family claims untrue. The family has urged the police to undertake a thorough investigation so as to get justice for the victim’s family.
