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Tribal Christian raped and murdered in Orissa

Bibhuti Mishra in Bhubaneswar

A tribal woman was allegedly raped and murdered in Mandasore village of Phulbani district in Orissa on Sunday. The woman's younger brother was also killed when he came in the way of the attackers. The woman's 10-year-old cousin was also badly injured in the attack.

The 20-year-old woman had gone to the forest along with her brother and cousin and another boy. The attackers allegedly dragged her off and raped her. When the boys tried to protect her, they too were set upon.

The injured boys ran to the father of the local church in the village who informed the Raikia police station, about 320 kms from Bhubaneswar. The police later recovered the bodies. The injured boys have been shifted to Behrampur hospital.

Thirty of the 35 families in Mandasore are Christian and there has been tension in the area between the Christian and Hindu communities for some time now.

This attack comes soon after two other attacks on Christians in the state, the gang rape of a Catholic nun recently and the killing of Graham Stewart Stains, an Australian missionary, last month.

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