‘Exorcism’ murder case: Two arrested; pastors’ ‘unethical’ acts come under lens

Tribune News Service

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Gurdaspur, August 26

The police have arrested two of the main accused involved in the murder of a middle-aged man, Samuel Masih, by 10 persons on the pretext of “exorcising a ghost that had entered his body” at Singhpura village on the intervening night of August 21 and 22.

SSP Harish Dayama said the police had nabbed Jacob Masih and Baljit Singh Sonu and a hunt was on to arrest the other eight.

A lot of significance is being attached to the killing and the sequence of events that led to it. Post the incident, the spotlight has shifted to the “immoral, depraved and unethical methods” adopted by pastors, priests and apostles to cure the sick. This includes treating diseases like cancer, AIDS, liver cancer, heart attacks, miscarriages and other ailments.

The police claim Samuel Masih is not a one-off case. They admit many such cases happen but they are never reported “till the treatment ends in killing the patient instead of healing him.”

Today, rationalist bodies like the Tarksheel Society, Punjab, jumped into the fray. They have demanded action against people of the Christian community for indulging in “black magic, witchcraft and sorcery.” The society also urged the Punjab Government to enact a law against such “unlawful” practices.

Pastors hold ‘prayer meetings’ every Sunday at different places in Gurdaspur district which has a fair concentration of Christians, although Dhariwal township remains the epicentre. It is in the guise of these gatherings that pastors, dressed like executives, stand on the stage — with live screens placed behind them — and invite people to get instant cures for all their ills. Gurdaspur has a substantial share of the Christian community.

The most well-known places where meetings take place are Sohal, Mahadev Kalan, Sohal-Rania, Lehal and Biddipur. Earlier, gatherings took place near IT scheme No 7, near the new bus stand, in Gurdaspur city. Some congregations are held in the numerous churches that dot this district while others are held under tents. And, surprisingly, some are even held on rooftops of houses.

“Sundays are mandatory off-days for Christians and they are asked to attend the meetings where apart from treatment, the other things that are provided on a platter are jobs, visas to US and European countries, how to bring back the dead, political postings and solutions to domestic discords. Activities relating to black magic, sorcery and exorcising of evil spirits are done in the name of Yeshu Masih (Jesus Christ). Devotional songs are also played,” said a senior police officer.

“This is because superstition is all-pervasive in these areas, a direct fallout of the extremely low literacy rate,” added the officer.

Groups of Christians, a majority of them converts from Mazhbi Sikhs and Valmiki Hindus, roam the rural areas at night looking for anybody who needs a cure.

DSP (Dhariwal) Kulwant Singh, one of the investigators into the murder of Samuel Masih, said when stopped at check-posts, these groups claim that “they are just exhorting people to attend meetings.”

The police do not act against these meetings because seldom do they receive complaints. Policemen, fearing religious backlash, do not dare to prevent such congregations.

Pastors, the police say, have placed agents in villages whose job is to spread the message of Christianity. “And with it, the poison of superstition and black magic is also being spread,” said an officer.

The consensus in these areas is that more Samuel Masihs will lose their lives in the future if these activities are not immediately nipped in the bud. This, senior officers say, is an insurmountable task as Christians are vote banks of politicians who go all out to defend the community whenever they encounter a problem.