Khulna (AsiaNews/Compass) – The decapitated body of Dulal Sarkar, a lay pastor and evangelist, was found in Jalalpur, a village in the district of Khulna, south-western Bangladesh. Although he was killed on March 8, the murder was confirmed only recently.

Sarkar, 35, a lay pastor with the local branch of the Bangladesh Free Baptist Church, worked as a guard and general caretaker for the church.

The week before he was murdered, he had approached some Muslim villagers to discuss his faith and brought them to his church to talk with the senior pastor.

On March 8, Sarkar once again talked about his faith with a number of villagers, but this time, on his way home, he was attacked by a group of armed men who, as one source said, "separated his head from his body." The assailants were later identified as a group of ten local Muslim extremists.

Sarkar's wife immediately filed a police report and officers arrested three of the accused.

However, local Christians said the remaining seven, who have connections with the Jamaat-e-Islami political party, have tried to bribe the police to get the three out of jail.

The pastor leaves behind his wife, Aruna, and five children.

Since she filed the police report his widow has been threatened by the extremists and forced to move from house to house in an effort to protect herself and her children.

Local Christian sources have grave doubts that justice will be done—the legal system in Bangladesh is notoriously corrupt, and the political influence of Jamaat-e-Islami may prevent the case from going to court.

In recent months, Muslim fundamentalist groups have become more active; however, most Bangladeshis remain attached to a peaceful and more moderate Islam. (LF)

In the photo by Compass Direct, pastor Dulal Sarkar.