Updated at 19.30 IST
Dehradun: 2 missionaries Found Murdered
PTI
Dehradun, Sep 22: Sixty-year-old Father Samuel and Sister Mercy, 35, were found dead in separate rooms at their ashram "Samarpanalaya" at Chhota Rampur, police said.
Preliminary investigations showed both were strangulated, they said adding their bodies had been sent for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of the death.
The bodies, tied with ropes, were found by a watchman of the hermitage who immediately informed police.
All the belongings in the two rooms were found scattered, police said adding this might have been done to mislead investigators.
Father Samuel alias Swami Aste, who hails from Meerut, was living in the ashram for the past 20 years. Sister Mercy was from Delhi.
Senior police officers visited the scene and were supervising investigations.
The Congress condemned the attack and asked the Centre to take action against the BJP government in Uttarakhand.
The Centre recently issued advisories to Karnataka and Orissa governments under article 355 in the wake of attacks on Christians and churches in the two states.
Dehradun: Fr Samuel (Sadhu Asthya) of Meerut Diocese Murdered
Daijiworld Media Network - Dehradun (MM/SP)
Dehradun, Sep 22: In a tragic incident, a priest in Meerut diocese was brutally murdered by the miscreants on Saturday September 20.
The deceased person has been identified as Fr Samuel (50). Fr Samuel was widely known as Sadhu Ashtya and he was dressing like the Sadhus here. He was running an Ashram in a place called Chota Rampur in Meerut district, which is 27 kilometers away from Dehradun. He was also engaged in growing agricultural crops in seven acres of land of the Ashram.
Sources say that he went missing since the last two days and was found dead on Monday September 22. He was murdered through strangulation with the help of his shawl. Meanwhile, his hands were tied behind his back. The police suspect that the murder was committed on Saturday September 20. Senior police officers of Uttaranchal state have rushed to the spot and initiated the probe.