NEW DELHI — The young widow of a Christian in India’s Chhattisgarh state who was killed for his faith is living in fear a month after she fled for her life.
“I saw them kill my husband right before my eyes,” said Jime Kawasi, whose husband, 22-year-old Kosa Kawasi, was slain in Bastar District on May 4. “I was assaulted, but somehow I managed to escape. I still fear that my husband’s killers will find me and kill me.”
Fleeing Kapanar village, in Darbha block, she took refuge in a house far from the murder site. The five other Christian families in the village, unable to find her, fled the same day, including elderly parents and young children.
Relatives furious with Kosa Kawasi killed him after villagers forbade any families with Christian members to participate in tribal festival offerings to local gods, sources said.
A mob of about 20 villagers, including Kosa Kawasi’s uncle, Dasru Kawasi and cousin, Madiya Kawasi, went to his house at 10 a.m. and began to argue with him, telling him to renounce Christ, said area Christian leader Santosh Mandavi. When Kosa Kawasi refused, they began to assault him and his wife, he said.
“They hit the couple with wooden sticks, kicked them with legs and fists,” Mandavi said. When Kawasi persisted in his faith, “his uncle and cousin stabbed Kosa with the knife thrice in his stomach.”
This story was originally published in christianpost.com. Read the full story here.