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G Vinayak in Guwahati
Three Catholic priests were shot near Imphal on Tuesday night, sending shockwaves through the Christian community in the Manipur capital.
The killing of the priests at the Don Bosco Celestian Noviciate, located on Nagarian hills about 30 km east of Imphal, is believed to be part of the sustained militant campaign against the community.
Tuesday's killings took the number of priests murdered in the state in recent times to six. Eight Catholic schools in Imphal have also been closed down after failing to meet the extortion demands of a militant group since February.
Police said three gunmen came to the training school at 8 pm on Tuesday and demanded a huge sum of money. Sources said the priests gave the gunmen Rs 35,000 but they were not satisfied and opened fire on them.
The students inside the building were warned by the intruders not to venture out. After an hour of negotiation, the students first heard the sound of a single shot and then the staccato sound of automatic weapons.
Father Raphael Paliakhara, 45, and Father Andreas Kindo, 33, were shot dead first. Brother Shinu Joseph Valliparampil, 23, the assistant who ran out to help his superiors, was also not spared.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India condemned the killings and appealed to the prime minister, the home minister and the Manipur chief minister to "come to the rescue of Christians."
In February, at least half-a-dozen Catholic missionaries, most of them employed in educational institutions, fled Manipur following threats from insurgent groups.
Eight Catholic schools in the heart of Imphal decided to close down in the wake of militant groups slapping on each of them an extortion demand of Rs 500,000.
Christian missionaries in Manipur have been targeted by the militants since 1990. During the last decade more than a dozen Christian missionaries have been targeted and killed in Manipur.
According a top Manipur police official the outlawed People's Liberation Army and the Revolutionary Front combine is behind this extortion drive.
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