Tejpur (AsiaNews) – The funeral of Mgr Matthew Nellickal will be held on Thursday 8 September. The vicar-general of Tejpur diocese in the state of Assam in northeast India was murdered on the night of Friday 2 September in the bishop's house. Fr Lois, secretary of the bishop of Tejpur, said the priest was found the following day in the store room next door to his bedroom, with deep cuts to the head. Local church representatives denounced the murder as part of an escalating spiral of anti-Christian violence sweeping across India in recent months.

In an interview with AsiaNews, Mgr John Thomas, former bishop of Tejpur, and now bishop of Dipu, also in Assam, expressed the "shock" of the Christian community. "We are shocked by the tragic end of such a valuable priest. The police are investigating: so far, they have told us nothing but they hope to find the perpetrators within a few days".

Mgr Nellickal, 65 years, had taken on the assignment of vicar-general two months ago. "Mgr Nellickal was a very active, sincere and enthusiastic priest of our diocese, full of cheer and goodwill," the diocese said in a statement. "He worked for the good of people without distinction based on caste or religion." The statement said Mgr Nellickal used his "talents of mind and heart for his apostolate."

Mgr Thomas said Mgr Nellickal had no enemies, "even more so because he was new in the place". The hypothesis of murder for theft seems unlikely. "There were no signs of burglary," emphasized the bishop. "In his room, there was plenty of money which was left untouched, as were other objects of value." The prelate admitted to having "absolutely no idea as to who could have committed such a brutal homicide".

The death of the vicar-general has hit the local Christian community hard: it represents 15% of the population of Tejpur and 3% of the population of Assam. All religious schools in the city and in the district of Sonitpur were closed as a sign of mourning. Bishop Thomas, also secretary of the regional northeast council of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), said "Christians are shocked and many have come to give their condolences. Even the non-Catholic community of Tejpur has shown its solidarity with the Church and assured us of any help we may need."

Born at Palai in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Mgr Nellickal was ordained priest in 1974. Throughout the years, he covered a number of posts, including those of parish priest, director of a school and rector of the Muktidata seminary. Mgr Thomas added that "some of the former non-Christian students of Mgr Nellickal who now occupy important positions in the state administration have offered their support".

The CBCI called on the National Commission for Minorities to open an urgent inquiry into the case. Fr Babu Joseph, spokesman for the CBCI, told AsiaNews the homicide "should be seen in the context of increasing atrocities committed against exponents of the Church, institutions and missionaries in the country.  We need an immediate and effective response from the government to end violence against the Church in India."