India: Christian youth shoved off train to his death
An 18-year-old convert from Hinduism breathed his last on January 12, four days after he was found lying wounded near a railway track in the north-central state of Madhya Pradesh. Christians say he was pushed out of the train by Hindu extremists.
Passersby noticed Bansi Lal, an independent Christian worker, lying with a severe head injury at the S-12 signal post near the Bolai railway station in Shajapur district at about 7 p.m. on January 8.
Lal, who hails from Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district and attends a house church, accepted Christ in 2004. He was reportedly returning from a Christian meeting when the incident took place.
Lal died before he could give a statement to railway police, who have reportedly registered a case of suicide.
Station master of the Bolai railway station, Chinmay Rai, told Compass that as soon as he was informed about it, he made arrangements to send Lal to a hospital in nearby Ujjain district.
Rai, who said Lal had a deep head injury and was lying unconscious near the railway track, ruled out the possibility of a suicide.
“The kind of injuries he had sustained and the way he was found lying do not suggest it was a suicide,” he said.
Asked if Lal was pushed out of the train, he said, “It is difficult to find out now, as he alone could say what exactly happened.”
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