Indian Christians demand protection

Archbishop De Lastic is concerned at the attacks

By Jyotsna Singh in Delhi

A group of Christians led by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi, Alan De Lastic, has asked Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to ensure that attacks on Christians are stopped immediately.

The demand comes after a Christian preacher was killed in the state of Punjab on Sunday.

The body of the preacher, Ashish Prabash Masih, was found at his home in Jalandhar city.

Police say that the corpse was partly burnt, and had deep stab wounds which indicate that he was murdered.

They say initial investigations suggest that the killing may have been a result of a family dispute, but they an anti-Christian motive cannot be ruled out.

Christian leaders have demanded urgent steps to protect their community.

They expressed grave concern over what they called a sharp increase in such violence in recent months.

In recent days these have included the murder of a priest in the city of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, and bomb attacks outside churches in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.