Pastor laid to rest amid security in Ludhiana

Ludhiana, July 19, 2017: The last rites of Sultan Masih, a pastor who was shot dead by two unidentified men on a motorcycle on July 15 night, were held at the Christ Church Cemetery in Civil Lines here.

A large number of Christian leaders including K Koshi, chairman of the council of churches of Ludhiana, Punjab State Minority Commission member Albert Dua, Pastors Issac Dutt Rakesh Philips attended the funeral on July 17.

Earlier, the postmortem was done at the DMC Hospital by a team of doctors from the civil hospital.

The body was then taken to the church at Slem Tabri where tributes were paid to Masih by the Christian leaders and others.

The pastor was the in charge of the Slem Tabri church.

Apart from sorrow and disappointment, there was quiet anger at the killing of the pastor. Around 700 persons gathered at the cemetery. People kept streaming at the cemetery despite rain.

Elaborate security arrangements were made to maintain normalcy in the city. Traffic on the way to cemetery was diverted. Commissioner of Police RN Dhoke, who was present at the funeral, said investigation into the case was under way and all angles were being explored in the case. District administrative officials, including the SDM-East, was also present.

Lawrence Chaudhary, president of the Christian National Front, said it was the first time that the priest of a church had been killed. “I think some anti-Punjab forces are at play who want to disturb peace in Punjab. We demand the Punjab Government should take action, so peace and harmony doesn’t get disturbed in the state,” he said.

A prayer would be held at Dana Mandi on July 24.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had directed the police to crack down on elements trying to whip up communal passions in the state.

He also announced a government job to Masih’s son and an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for his wife Sarabjit Kaur.

– tribune, india today