Police arrest four in murder case of two missionaries

Dehra Dun, Oct 9 (UNI) The city police has arrested four people alleged to be involved in the murder of two Christians in Sahaspur area of the city last month.

The accused were identified as Francis alias Yugal Kishore, Mukesh Kumar alias Rajan, Arun Kumar and Vipin Kumar who confessed their involvement in the murder of Father Samuel and his follower Mercy at the Smarpanalaya Ashram in Chota Rampur village in Sahaspur on September 21.

The two missionaries were found brutally murdered in the ashram and police suspect it to be a case of attempted robbery.

''Francis, a resident of the St Kitts Church in Karkarkhera was allegedly the mastermind of the murder. He was sent to the Smarpanalaya Ashram for construction work by Archbishop of St Kitts Church Father Thomas,'' IG, Garhwal, Ashok Kumar said in a press release.

In his confession to the police, Francis said he had stayed in the ashram for 12 days. While working there as a mason, he used to attend prayers by Father Samuel and was amazed at the hefty amount of donations that the ashram used to receive.

His greed made him believe that Father Samuel had a lot of money and with an intention to loot the priest, he went back to Meerut where he conceived a plan with his three accomplices, Mr Kumar said.

The four had come to the ashram three months back with the intention of looting Father Samuel. However, they dropped the plan at the last minute as there were a lot of people in the ashram performing prayers, Mr Kumar said.

On September 20, they came back to the ashram and asked Father Samuel to perform prayers for Vipin as he was ''ill''. Taking the opportunity, they alllegedly strangulated him and ransacked his room. They did the same to sister Mercy as they were known to her.

The four later decamped with Rs 14,000 in cash besides jewellery and a mobile phone.

Congratulating the police team for achieving a major breakthrough, Chief Minister Maj Gen (Retd) B C Khanduri has announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000.

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