NEW DELHI, India — A Christian man died in August shortly after his wife and adult son threatened to burn him alive.
Christians in Gobindapur village in the state of West Bengal believe Madhab Gorai’s Hindu relatives killed him because his Christian faith might imperil his daughter’s engagement and wedding.
Morning Star News reported that when the wife and son disrupted the service at Church of North India to threaten Gorai, the man’s wife was holding a bottle of gasoline.
In his daughter’s upcoming wedding, Gorai was expected to perform the Hindu ritual of worshiping sacred fire. Gorai had refused to do so, Subendu Soren, pastor of Church of North India, said to Morning Star News.
On Aug. 8, church members asked the family about Gorai and were told he had died in his sleep and had been cremated that morning in accordance with Hindu ritual.
Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the leader in 2014, Hindu extremists have targeted Christians in certain areas.
India is No. 10 on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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