04/26/2020 India (International Christian Concern) – According to Morning Star News, the daughter of a pastor murdered in 2015 was recently shot by masked gunmen in eastern India. The Christian woman survived the attack, but sustains serious injury. Local police are now investigating the matter.
On April 16, masked gunmen knocked on the door of Neelam Purty’s family home in Sandih village, located in India’s Jharkhand state. According to Morning Star News, the gunmen proceeded to question Neelam’s sister, Sharon, after she answered the door.
“Is this the house of the pastor who was killed?” one of the gunmen reportedly asked Sharon. “That pastor was killed, but you did not learn a lesson. You have continued assembling in large numbers for Christian prayers. Where is the woman working as spy?”
According to Morning Star News, when Neelam came to the door, the gunmen claimed she was the spy and shot her. The bullet went through Neelam’s right thumb and lodged itself into her right thigh. After that, the gunmen fled.
Neelam was quickly taken to a local hospital and the incident was reported to police. Police have several leads into the incident, but have not brought anyone into custody.
In October 2015, Neelam and Sharon’s father, Pastor Chamu Hassa Purty, was shot and killed in similar circumstances in Sandih village. The murder reportedly took place in the same home after Pastor Purty had prayed for a sick boy in a nearby village and helped the boy’s parents admit him to the hospital.
