Christian woman brutally murdered in India

MUMBAI, India – A woman was hacked to death in India, in the latest attack on Christians in the country.

Bindu Sodhi was killed in the village of Toylanka in Chhattisgarh, a state in Central India on June 24.

Sodhi, who was just 22, and her family were preparing their field to plant rice when they were assaulted by a group of Hindu radical nationalists that included members of her extended family.

Sodhi’s mother, brother and younger sister managed to escape the attackers.

Hindus make up over 93 percent of the population of the state, and Christians are just under 2 percent of the population.

The state is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has strong links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist organization.

Since it took over the national government in 2014, religious minorities have complained about increased harassment. It was recently re-elected, winning the vote, but losing its absolute majority in the nation’s parliament.

Arun Pannalal, the President of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, said her crime was that she was a Christian and “believed faithfully in Lord Jesus Christ.”

“The farmland she was sowing was her ancestral property. Her paternal uncle had earlier threatened the family to leave Christian faith or be prepared to die. The said uncle and villagers were not allowing them to plough their own field,” he told Crux.

“On the fateful day the family was attacked in the field with bow, arrow, axe, and knife. The tractor driver and family members fled. Bindu Sodhi was frail she could not run and escape. Her own blood related Uncle caught her niece Bindu and slit her throat with the same knife he was carrying,” Pannalal continued.

A local Christian activist told the Christian Post he order for protection of Christians has little to no impact.

“The situation is terrible,” the activist said. “We met with the police chief, were told he would look into it, but the stunning reality is that Christians have been detained daily,”

The day of the attack on the family, the Chhattisgarh Christian Forum had called for a silent protest march on 24 June for a series of violent incidents targeting Christians across the state.

Pannalal told Crux the murder of the Christian woman took place on the same day as the protest march.

“Over 1,500 people joined in the silent protest against the atrocities on the Christian community, people came from 45 legislative assembly areas,” he said.

The group issued a press release stating it had appealed to Chhattisgarh’s governor to address violence against religious minorities.

Pannalal told Crux the state authorities are now aiding religious fanatics who are closing churches throughout Chhattisgarh in an unconstitutional manner.

In Dhamtari district, Pannalal said there have been 27 serious attacks on women and religious places in the last two weeks.

He said nearly 2,000 letters of complaint have been filed, and no action has been taken, and added police have closed 37 churches in Dhamtari district.