Police treat Protestant clergyman’s murder in Haryana as an ‘ordinary’ crime

Rev Vinod Kumar, a former Hindu who became an Evangelical leader, was ostensibly killed out of “animosity”. Meanwhile, 15 rural Dalit families who became Christian were forced to “reconvert”.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) – The murder of a Protestant clergyman treated by police as an ordinary criminal act has sparked outrage among Christians in the Indian state of Haryana.

Rev Vinod Kumar, 42, was fatally shot by a Hindu acquaintance, Sonu Kashyap, in a premeditated ambush in Sangoi, a village in Karnal district.

According to the pastor’s wife, Sunita Kumar, right after he had finished an online prayer on 30 June, he received a phone call from Kashyap's brother asking him to visit a sick person.

As soon as he left the village on his motorbike, Rev Kumar was attacked by Sonu Kashyap from behind, hit repeatedly, even after he fell from the vehicle.

Police caught the killer still smeared in blood after receiving a call from neighbours. After arresting him, they remanded him into custody for two weeks, but in the charge sheet, “animosity” was put down as the motive.

The victim’s wife believes instead that the attack was religious in nature. Rev Kumar was a Hindu who had converted to Christianity and had been talking about his faith with his attacker for over two months.

“Pastor Vinod Kumar was murdered only because he was Christian,” said Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), speaking to AsiaNews. “The GCIC shares the widow's grief”.

George hopes that this case may “serve to deter others who endanger the lives of innocent Christians without provocation”. Such actions “cause communal disharmony and suspicion”.

Meanwhile, in another context, media have reported the “reconversion” of 15 Dalit families from Christianity in Haryana.

In Nimdiwali, Bhiwani district, the local assembly (panchayat) forced Christian families to perform Hindu rituals, and filed a complaint with police against a local clergyman.

“Many innocent pastors are under constant surveillance, especially in India’s rural areas,” George explained.

In his view, “There is nothing illegal to share the Gospel with someone without forcing them to embrace it. But the majority community just wants Dalits to remain submissive and discriminated against.”