Yet another horrific incident of a hate-crime against an innocent Hindu has taken place, this time in the Koilamari Balijan area of the North Lakhimpur district in the state of Assam. A Hindu boy, belonging in the tribal community, Biki Bishal, was murdered by a mob of Christians on Tuesday, 13th September, for marrying a Christian girl and then refusing to convert to Christianity when forced to do the same.
In order to delve deeper into the case, GoaChronicle got in touch with a freelance journalist from Guwahati, Abhijit Sharma who said that Bishal fell in love with a girl named Annie, from a converted Christian family, and they got married on Saturday, 3rd September, after which Bishal brought Annie to his home.
After Annie accompanied Bishal home, around 400 to 500 people who were incited by the churches situated in the area nearby, the Koilamari Baptist Church, Balijan Baptist Church, and GEL Church and by a priest, Francis Barla, and the principal of a missionary school called Morning Star English School, went to Bishal’s home, thrashed him and vandalised the house as well. Following which, they threatened Bishal to get converted to Christianity by Sunday, 11th September, but he straightaway rejected to convert. After he refused, the mob took his wife, Annie, away.
On 11th September, Bishal received a call from one Aind, another converted Christian, and was told by him to come meet him in order to sort the situation out. Following which, Bishal left his home, but haplessly, never returned. The next day, on the 12th of September, his dead body was spotted hanging from a tree branch in a kneeled-down position, and then his family was informed about the same. His family members then rushed to the spot and recovered the dead body.
As per local sources, which cannot be revealed due to security reasons, the killing of Biki Bishal was planned in the churches during the Sunday mass, and the decision to murder Bishal was taken by church authorities only. Till now, 4 to 5 arrests have been made by the local police in the matter, including one Ismail Sabbath, a Baptist Church preacher and one Niranjan Aian.
