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Christian priest shot dead in Ranchi

Our Correspondent in Patna

Miscreants shot dead a Christian priest, Father Remis Karketta, in an isolated place some 20 kilometres from Ranchi on Wednesday night and stole his belongings. His body was recovered with a gunshot wound on Thursday.

Father Karketta, a local tribal, belonged to the Society of Jesus. He was the principal of the St Xavier School in Bundu. He was shot dead while returning to Bundu from Ranchi on his motorcycle. The killers decamped with his motor-cycle and other belongings.

Missionaries in Patna refuse to believe it is a case of simple dacoity though the killers have attempted to make it appear as if Karketta was run over by a heavy vehicle. Despite wearing a helmet, Karketta's head was completely crushed.

Ranchi's Senior Superintendent of Police Gupteshwar Pandey held the same view. The post-mortem report also revealed that Karketta was shot dead.

It appears that Karketta was forcibly stopped by the miscreants and killed. They left his body on the road. Later, some vehicle might have run over him giving the impression that he was the victim of an accident.

Father Karketta is the first Christian priest to be killed in Bihar in the last two and a half years. The murder has taken place only a week after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad warned Christian missionaries to stop proselytizing. The warning was written on the wall outside the Ursaline Convent in Ranchi.

A fortnight ago, some local Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists alleged that they had received a threatening letter from the Christians. However, the missionaries countered saying it was merely a tactic to create a cover for the VHP's hate campaign.

After Orissa, the VHP and Bajrang Dal have started targeting the Christians in the tribal belt of south Bihar.

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