CHRISTIAN BREAKING NEWS: Young Widow of 22-Year-Old Christian Killed for His Faith Lives in Fear after She Fled for Her Life in India
CHRISTIAN BREAKING NEWS: Young Widow of 22-Year-Old Christian Killed for His Faith Lives in Fear after She Fled for Her Life in India
A month after fleeing for her life, the young widow of a 22-year-old Christian slain in Bastar District on May 4 for his faith in Chhattisgarh, India, is still terrified.
“I saw them kill my husband right before my eyes. I was assaulted, but somehow I managed to escape. I still fear that my husband’s killers will find me and kill me.”
– Jime Kawasi, Wife of Kosa Kawasi Killed for his Faith
She fled Kapanar village, Darbha block, and sought refuge in a place far from the murder location.
The 5 other Christian families in the village, who were unable to locate her, escaped the same day, including elderly parents and little children.
Relatives were unhappy with Kosa Kawasi and killed him when villagers prevented any families with Christian members from participating in tribal festival gifts to local gods, sources said.
A mob of around 20 villagers, including Kosa Kawasi’s uncle, Dasru Kawasi, and cousin, Madiya Kawasi, went to his house at 10 AM IST and began arguing with him, demanding him to forsake Christ, according to regional Christian leader Santosh Mandavi.
When Kosa Kawasi refused, they began assaulting him and his wife, he claimed.
“They hit the couple with wooden sticks, kicked them with legs and fists.”
– Santosh Mandavi, regional Christian leader
When Kawasi persisted in his faith,
“his uncle and cousin stabbed Kosa with the knife thrice in his stomach.”
– Santosh Mandavi, regional Christian leader
Kosa Kawasi’s wife and younger brother were able to rescue him, take him to the road, and call for an ambulance, but while they were waiting, several members of the mob attempted to slit his neck, Mandavi claimed.
“Kosa’s brother and his wife again saved him and carefully continued to carry him away from the ferocious mob.”
– Santosh Mandavi, regional Christian leader
Mandavi stated that his uncle and cousin then used an axe to strike Kosa on the head, killing him instantaneously.
Police arrived about an hour later and seized his body.
Kosa Kawasi’s brother, Hidma Kawasi, is also a Christian, and he escaped when the crowd lead by Dasru and Madiya Kawasi approached his house.
Despite Kosa Kawasi’s repeated complaints to the Darbha Police Station regarding threats to his and other Christians’ lives, authorities did nothing and refused to file a First Information Report, according to a source.
Mandavi claimed he went to Kapanar on May 6 and found cops distributed across the village.
The police station chief informed him that Jime Kawasi was being treated at a government hospital in Dantewada, 28 kilometers away for injuries sustained during the assault.
“When I met her, she was extremely terrified. She narrated the entire incident and the brutality with which her husband was killed.”
– Santosh Mandavi, regional Christian leader
Police arrested Dasru and Madiya Kawasi on homicide charges the day after the incident, but no further arrests were made, according to Mandavi.
Prior to the killing, village leaders decided that if even one member of a family was Christian, the entire household would be banned from attending Kapanar village’s Ammajugani festival, during which the first mango harvest is sacrificed to the local gods, Mandavi explained.
“This infuriated Kawasi’s cousins, uncle and his family, and in their anger, they attacked Kawasi and his wife and killed Kawasi. The other Christian families also were under threat of being attacked by their relatives, and Kawasi’s brutal killing set a precedence for other relatives to attack their Christian member, so all of them fled for their lives.”
– Santosh Mandavi, regional Christian leader told Morning Star News
During the event, everyone in the village sings and dances, offers mango and animal offerings to their gods, and then feasts together.
Mandavi stated that anyone who does not attend the festival is prohibited from utilizing mangoes for the duration of the mango season.
Jime Kawasi, who is still physically weak and scared, lives with 5 other Christian families several miles away, uncertain when or if she will be able to return home.
“I want to continue to follow and serve Jesus. It was for this Jesus that my husband was willing to be faithful to the point of death; I too will follow in his footsteps. Please pray for me, I need your prayers.”
– Jime Kawasi
NEWS SOURCE & LINKS:
Morning Star News
Young Widow of Christian KILLED FOR HIS FAITH LIVES IN FEAR AFTER SHE FLED FOR HER LIFE IN INDIA… | Christian Breaking News!