Masked men attacked Father Benedict Barla, principal of a missionary school in Khunti in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, inside the school on the night of Tuesday, October 20. He was found unconscious and bleeding with serious head injuries the next morning and is now under treatment at a private hospital in Ranchi, the state capital. Police are still searching for the attackers.
Father Barla, also known as Benny, heads the RC St Michael Middle School at the Khunti district headquarters, which some reports have also called St Michael School or RC Boys Middle School. He is associated with the town’s St Michael’s Cathedral and is a respected figure in the local Christian community, known for his social work in the surrounding areas.
The school had shut on Tuesday for a festival, and the man who usually stays with the principal had left to attend his mother’s funeral. He returned only after the burial, in the early hours of Wednesday. “The attackers may have known that the principal was alone,” said Father Bisu Benjamin, Vicar General of the Diocese of Khunti, the senior deputy to the bishop who heads the Catholic Church in the area.
Security cameras recorded the intruders arriving at around 9 pm. “From the CCTV footage, it appears that three people wearing masks entered on a bike. It seems they may have entered the office and attacked the principal when he came across them. They appear to have used whatever they could find there to hit him,” Father Benjamin told The Indian Express.
Police suspect two or three men were already lying in wait when Father Barla stepped out to check on the campus. Bishop Binay Kandulna of Khunti believes three or four people may have broken in to steal from the principal’s office, and that Father Barla could not see them in the dark. “When he opened the grill to enter his office they attacked him,” the bishop said. According to the doctor’s report, he added, the weapon was probably a spade, which police have recovered.
Office belongings lay scattered at the scene, and there were signs that someone had tried to wipe away the bloodstains. Early news agency reports on Wednesday had stated that the priest was shot. Police will confirm the weapon once they receive the formal injury report.
People arriving at the school found Father Barla at around 8.30 am on Wednesday, and police received word of the attack about half an hour later. He was taken first to Khunti Sadar Hospital, the main government hospital in the district, and then referred to Pulse Hospital in Ranchi, with police personnel by his side. Because he is diabetic, doctors were trying to stabilise him before considering surgery.
Accounts of his condition differ. Khunti’s Superintendent of Police Rishav Garg, the district police chief, described it as stable at the time of his statement. The bishop called it “very critical, also due to his health complications.”
Garg, the Sub-Divisional Police Officer and other officers inspected the school after the attack came to light. “Police are examining CCTV footage and other available evidence to identify the attacker,” the SP said. Investigators are also going through footage from cameras on roads leading to the school to trace the attackers’ movements. No arrests have been made, and the motive remains unclear.
The diocese has appealed for calm. “We do not want to speculate about who could be behind this. We will wait for the administration and police to investigate. We do not want rumours to spread and create divisions in society,” the Vicar General said.
Anger nonetheless spilled onto the streets. Christian organisations, the Adivasi-Moolvasi Samanvay Samiti, a coordination body of Adivasi (Indigenous tribal) and long-settled local communities, and other social groups enforced a “bandh”, a protest shutdown of shops and traffic common in India. Protesters blocked roads at Bhagat Singh Chowk, a central square, and near Bazar Tand, bringing Khunti to a standstill for about six and a half hours.
The blockade lifted only after Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Javed Hussain, the district’s top civil administrator, joined the police chief in promising strict action. Protesters handed him a nine-point charter seeking a Special Investigation Team, a forensic examination and the swift arrest of those responsible. Local leaders Marshal Barla and Chandra Prabhat Munda voiced fears of a larger conspiracy behind the assault.
Other Christian groups have added their voices. Albin Lakra, Vikas Tirkey and Arun Nagesia, office-bearers of the Ranchi-based Jharkhand Christian Youth Association, called an attack on a place of learning a grave matter. They want police to complete a fair inquiry within a fixed period and to ensure proper medical care and security for the priest. Praveen Kachhap, national working president of the All India Christian Minority Front, sought a review of how the police responded.
The Member of Parliament for Khunti was among those who visited the hospital on Wednesday to ask after Father Barla’s health.
