“The Going Price to Kill a Pastor is $250”

The Times of London has a troubling story today on Hindu extremists in the Indian province of Orissa who are offering rewards to those who kill Christians:

Extremist Hindu groups offered money, food, and alcohol to mobs to kill Christians and destroy their homes, according to Christian aid workers in the eastern state of Orissa . . . .

The U.S.-based head of a Christian organization that runs several orphanages in Orissa—one of India’s poorest regions—claims that Christian leaders are being targeted by Hindu militants and carry a price on their heads. “The going price to kill a pastor is $250 (£170),” Faiz Rahman, the chairman of Good News India, said.

A spokesman for the All-India Christian Council said: “People are being offered rewards to kill, and to destroy churches and Christian properties. They are being offered foreign liquor, chicken, mutton, and weapons. They are given petrol and kerosene.”

(via Rod Dreher )