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Yalam Sankar Christian pastor brutally murdered in Chattisgarh

IndiaYalam Sankar Christian pastor brutally murdered in Chattisgarh

Yalam Sankar, a Christian pastor was brutally murdered in Angampalli village, Bijhapur district of Chhattisgarh state, Central India.

International Christian Concern shares that on 03/19/2022 in India, Yalam Sankar, a Christian pastor was violently killed in Angampalli village, Bijhapur district of Chhattisgarh state, Central India.

The incident occurred when on Thursday, five masked men broke into the pastor’s house, dragged him out, and stabbed him to death. After he was murdered, his body was taken to the coroner and later handed over to his family.

Pastor Yalam Sankar, (50s year old)  pastor is survived by his wife, two sons, and grandchildren. The family and the entire Christian community in the region are shattered.

According to sources reaching out to International Christian Concern (ICC), Pastor Shankar was the Senior Pastor of BCM (Bastar for Christ Movement) Church in Angampalli. He was a former sarpanch of the village and a very powerful person.

He was especially protective of Christians from the extremists Hindu radicals and right-wing terror groups. A local Christian who wished to remain anonymous narrated to ICC, “the Christians in this area have been facing intense opposition from the radical Hindu nationalists. Several times Pastor Shankar defended Christians from radical Hindu nationalists, and that could be the reason for this extreme form of persecution of killing.”

Local Christians confirmed that two days back, the local radical Hindu extremists threatened Pastor Yalam Shankar that they would kill him if he continued to preach the Christian faith. Christians in Chhattisgarh state have been facing severe persecution following the hate speeches of right-wing organizations and their political leaders. We pray for the grieving family members of Pastor Shankar and the Christian community in the state.

Other groups are trying to claim that the Maoists did it, but there is no proof to verify their claims, nor was Yalam Sankar ever threatened by them, rather just before his death, he was threatened by  Hindu fanatics that they would kill him if he continued to preach the Christian faith.  Christian families live in fear of even making a police complaint because they live under threats and suppression.

Earlier the Caravan reported that Adivasi Christians face intense persecution in Chhattisgarh, forced into ghar vapsi.  In April 2020, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent federal government commission, recommended the imposition of sanctions on India after observing a growing number of violations of religious freedom under the Modi government.

The USCIRF panel stated in its annual report that India should be designated as a Country of Particular Concern “for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.” Countries of Particular Concern, or CPCs, are ones where the respective governments “perpetrate or tolerate the worst violations of religious freedom globally.” The United States’ current CPC list includes Burma, China, Iran, and North Korea. The report takes special note of the rising number of attacks against Christians in India.

“Violence against Christians also rose, with at least 328 violent incidents including killing, often under accusations of forced conversions,” the report states. It further noted that government officials and agencies which are responsible for such violations should be barred from entering the United States.

According to the United Christian Forum (UCF), 2021 ended as the “most violent year” in recorded history for India’s Christian minority. Across the entire year, UCF recorded 486 violent incidents of Christian persecution, topping the previous record of 328 incidents recorded in 2019 and in 2022, spiraling anti-Christian violence threatens Indian democracy.

Is the Indian government able to stop this or are they secretly allowing it to occur?  It has to be noted that a lot of radical statements have been made by members of the ruling party, and others, linked to the party.

You might also want to read https://hamslivenews.com/2022/01/15/the-rising-persecution-of-christians-in-india-in-midst-of-suppression-slander-slaughter/

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