The beheaded body of a pastor was found in India's eastern Jharkhand state last week just hours after he was kidnapped by suspected Maoists.
World Watch Monitor reported that residents of Kubasal village have identified a beheaded body on the shore of Surangi reservoir as that of Abraham Topno, a pastor of an Indian Pentecostal Church.
The villagers last saw Topno traveling in a vehicle with a driver named Ranga Singh Munda. Police Inspector Gimal Kumar told World Watch Monitor that the rebels blindfolded Topno and Munda, and tied their hands before cutting the pastor's throat.
"The masked men told Ranga Singh Munda to go away and that that they have no business with him. 'We only want him [the pastor],' they said, and asked Munda to run away," Kumar told World Watch Monitor.
Topno's niece, Susari, said that the family was waiting for the pastor to come home from dinner when the driver informed them that he was abducted by armed men. The police inspector said that the driver has since been taken into custody.
The pastor's wife, Hulda Topno, believes that her husband was killed because the rebels suspected that he was a police informer, UCA News reported.
Kumar further stated that the pastor's vehicle was set on fire and found near the body. A note was reportedly found in Hindi language, saying "Death to police spy. Long live PLGA [People's Liberation Guerrilla Army]."
"It appears that Maoists have targeted and murdered him simply based on the suspicion that he is an informer to the police," Inspector Kumar said, as reported by World Watch Monitor.
"I know there's a church in Kubasal and am aware of the presence of Christians in the area, but never really interacted with any particularly because there was never a need," he added.
Munda told Topno's nephew, Aman Christochit, that the abduction was carried out by more than 25 people dressed in military fatigues.
Christochit noted that his uncle ran educational and social programs to help villagers and did not have enemies.
Pastor Nuas Mundu, a close friend of Topno, noted that the deceased pastor had served in the area for almost 25 years. He said that the rebels had first attacked Topno back in 2016, when they also accused the pastor of being an informer.
At the time, the rebels spared Topno's life when the pastor insisted that he was only there to share the Gospel, Mundu recounted.
