16 Christians acquitted in India murder case

JHABUA, India — A district court of India’s Madhya Pradesh state has acquitted 16 Christians accused of killing a Hindu fundamentalist in the violence that erupted after the body of a young girl was found inside a Catholic school in Jhabua in 2004. The Alirajpur sessions court acquitted the Christians May 31, with Judge Shaida Bano Rahman citing lack of evidence and saying prosecutors had fabricated testimonies against the accused, according to Indira Iyengar, member of the Madhya Pradesh State Minorities Commission. Arjun Pal, the slain Hindu fundamentalist, was killed Jan. 16, 2004, by one of his own group in the confusion that followed a mob attack on Christians, Iyengar said. A source said Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sought help in covering up the murder of Pal from a state legislator of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who pressured police to charge the Christians.