Police say arrested Hindu suspect confesses to stabbing Indian priest

Published: 2004-09-08

COCHIN, India (CNS) -- Police said a Hindu man arrested Sept. 7 for the murder of a Catholic priest in southern India's Kerala state confessed to the crime. Panthalkoottam Raghukumar reportedly told investigators he stabbed to death Father Job Chittilapilly to protest the priest's "anti-Hindu activities." Police sources quoted him as saying the Catholic priest's charitable activities for Hindu families incited him, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Raghukumar, 25, allegedly belongs to the pro-Hindu Indian People's Party, India's main opposition party, but local party leaders denied he was a member or worked for them. Father Chittilapilly, 71, was found dead Aug. 28 on a porch at Mother of Grace Parish, 25 miles north of Cochin. His body bore four stab wounds. An autopsy later confirmed the stab wounds caused the death.

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