7/10/07 RAJASTHAN, INDIA (ANS) — Gospel for Asia missionary Kasota and several other believers have been released from prison after being falsely accused of murdering a young child in Rajasthan, India. The missionary even led one man to Christ while he was in prison. The missionary, who works in Rajasthan, India, was held in prison for more than a month before all charges were dropped.
Last year, GFA reported that these Christians were arrested after a group of anti-Christian extremists framed them for the murder of a child. The 16-month-old from the missionarys village had suffered from a prolonged illness and was under medical care at the time of death.
The childs death appears to have been a result of the illness. Knowing that the parents had previously quarreled with the missionarys family over some land, the extremist group saw an opportunity to cause problems for the Christians.
They advised the childs parents to break the bones in his body so it would look like the toddler had been beaten. Then, the extremists told the parents to take the childs body to a doctor for a post-mortem examination.
The physician recognized the plot and initially refused to go along with the ploy. The extremists threatened the physician, and forced him to file a false report. The childs family used the inaccurate post-mortem report to bring murder charges against the missionary and 10 believers in a GFA-affiliated church. They claimed that the murder was part of a plot to take land for a church building.
Kasota and several believers were thrown into prison and held there for more than a month. Just like the Apostle Paul, Kasota continued to rejoice in the Lord during this difficult time. Through his faithful witness, a fellow inmate decided to follow Jesus. That man was released shortly after he turned to Christ, and now he plans to attend a GFA Bible college.
Finally, the Christians were released on bail. Soon after, all charges were dropped when the government discovered that the people who were against the Christians had been causing problems for many others as well.
Kasota praises the Lord that this serious situation has been resolved. He requests prayer that his ministry will continue to grow and more will come to Christ as a result of his testimony.
