Three Arrested in Death of India Catechist

(December 24, 2011) In the Indian State of Orissa three people have been arrested in connection with the death earlier this week of a catechist and defender of human rights. The body of Rabindra Parichha was found in Kandhamal district in the state of Orissa last Sunday. The 47-year-old was the third catechist to be killed this year in Orissa, which was the scene of the 2008 attacks on Christians. Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar spoke with Aid to the Church in Need about the victim: "Pariccha was a brave social worker in the field, in favour of Dalit rights," that is, those formerly known as the "untouchables." According to the Fides news agency, local sources reported that Pariccha left home after receiving a phone call from a neighbour. When he didn't return, a fruitless search led his family to alert the police, who found the body the following morning in the grounds of Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja College.