Pastor beats man to death in Punjab, allegedly to “get rid of the devil”

Chandigarh:

A 30-year-old man was beaten to death in Gurdaspur district of Punjab allegedly by a pastor and eight others in an attempt to “free his body from the devil”.

Samuel Masih, a resident of Singhpura village in Dhariwal in Gurdaspur, was suffering from seizures and was screaming frequently, police said.

His family invited a local pastor named Jacob Masih to their home to pray for Samuel on Wednesday, they said.

The pastor told the family that he was possessed by the devil. The pastor and eight others then started beating him. They told his family that this would drive the devil out of his body, they added.

He assured the family that nothing would happen to Masih, police said.

Samuel, a day laborer, was severely beaten and died on the spot. The family buried him the next day, police said.

Two days after the incident, Samuel's mother and his wife filed a complaint against the pastor.

Samuel's body was exhumed for an autopsy on Saturday. The entire investigation was carried out under the supervision of duty magistrate Inderjit Kaur, police said.

Charges have been filed against the pastor and eight others under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police added.

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