A 50-year-old Christian pastor was brutally murdered by Hindutva goons in Bijapur of Chhattisgarh on Thursday after being threatened for preaching Christianity.

Pastor Yalam Sankar was murdered last Thursday in the village of Angampalli by five men who broke into his house at night. He was dragged outside before being stabbed to death, reported International Christian Concern (ICC), an NGO concerned with the human rights of Christians and religious minorities around the world.

According to local Christians, the pastor had been warned by Hindutva thugs against preaching his religion and had been threatened with death.

A senior pastor of the Bastar for Christ Movement (BMC) church in Angampalliat, Shankar, was known to have defended Christians against Hindu nationalists. He is survived by his wife, two sons and grandchildren.

He was also a former village sarpanch and a very influential person.

“Christians in this region have faced intense opposition from radical Hindu nationalists. Several times Pastor Shankar has defended Christians against radical Hindu nationalists, and this could be the reason for this extreme form of murder persecution,” a local Christian told the ICC.

Minorities have faced severe persecution following hate speech from Hindu groups and politicians.