Assault on priest working among tribals in Madhya Pradesh
ICC Note
“They tried to kill me, but after they injured my head, I ran out of the Parish House. They chased me around the church building and continued to beat me,”
By George Anthony
12/20/2010 India (Christian Today)-A Catholic priest working among tribal people in Satna, Madhya Pradesh was last week attacked by a group of armed men.
Fr Thomas Chirattavayalil of Satna Diocese, posted at Odagady, a remote mission station in the diocese of Satna, was attacked at midnight, December 16, by masked men wielding weapons.
“They tried to kill me, but after they injured my head, I ran out of the Parish House. They chased me around the church building and continued to beat me,” said Fr Chirattavayalil.
“One of them commanded me not to shout. But I started to cry in a low voice asking for help. Hearing my cry the driver and the cook tried to rush out and help me, but the miscreants had closed their doors from outside,” he described.
“None of them could help me when I was between death and life. I then, ran to the house of a Panchayath member, around half a kilometer through the bush field,” he added
Fr Chirattavayalil has sustained two deep wounds on the head, and has injuries on the shoulder and other parts of the body, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.
An FIR has been registered in the local police station at Burgama in Singrauli District in Madhya Pradesh.
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