Not the safe haven?

Patna, July 18: Unidentified assailants brutally assaulted a Roman Catholic priest late last night at a mission centre in Chuhari village of north Bihar’s West Champaran district, 200 km from here.

Father V. Michael, with a damaged kidney and multiple injuries in his head and waist, was stated to be in a very critical condition, at the MJK Hospital, Bettiah, headquarters of the West Champaran district, 8km away from the incident site.

“He has suffered loss of blood caused by sharp weapons,” a doctor said.

Police have added that about a dozen criminals sneaked into his bedroom when he was asleep. They assaulted him with “sharp weapons” on his head, waist and stomach causing him to bleed profusely.

The inspector-general (operations), Anil Sinha, said though the assailants ransacked his bedroom; they did not take any of his belongings. “It suggests that loot was not the motive.” Though the police have said that the “real” reasons would be known only when father Michael gains consciousness, they suspect that some local youths harboured “animosity' against the priest, after they had to pay for a hand-pump stolen from the Chuhari mission.

The locals say that the priest complained against the youths after the mission’s hand-pump was stolen about a year ago.

The priest, however, got the money against the hand pump from the youths with the help of a local village headman and some other influential people. The incident, first of its kind on Chuhari mission, has sent a shock wave across the Catholic community in Bettiah, which has substantial Christian population and a strong presence of the church and Diocese.

The community members have converged on the MJK hospital condemning the incident. The Bettiah Bishop has described it as an “attack on Catholicism”. The subdivisional police officer (SDPO), Bettiah, Sanjay Kumar said raids were on to nab the culprits. “We are waiting for the priest to regain his senses, so that we can comprehend the real reason behind the attack and identify the culprits,” he said.