Mellieħa residents concerned for Indian priest

An Indian priest who is a frequent visitor to Malta, having received generous financial assistance from the people of Mellieħa, has gone into hiding in the Orissa jungle of India amid strife that has seen several Christians killed in the Kandhamal region.

Fr Vijay Kumar Najak was forced into hiding after receiving several threats.

Hindu mobs have killed 11 people and extensively damaged more than a dozen churches and attacked Christian homes and an orphanage. The violence, now spreading to new districts, was sparked by the murder of a Hindu leader in Kandhamal, a tribal area where Christian missionaries have been active for years.

Police blamed the killings on local Maoist rebels taking sides in a controversy over religious conversions, but Hindus say Christians were to blame. The murdered leader had been heading a local campaign to reconvert Hindus and tribal people from Christianity.

The Pope has condemned the killings on both sides.

Dr Francis Saliba, a personal friend of the Indian priest, told timesofmalta.com that Fr Vijay’s family had now lost all contact with him and they were not sure if he was dead or alive. Their only contact had been through a cell phone but contact has now been lost. Something could have happened or the phone’s battery could have gone flat, Dr Saliba said.

Fr Vijay was helped to become a priest by donations from the people of Mellieħa. After his ordination Fr Vijay continued his studies in Rome and then returned to India. Whenever he comes to Malta, Mellieħa residents hold a collection for his parish, Dr Saliba said.

He urged readers to pray for him and other priests and parishioners in their hour of need.