By Matters India Reporter

Mayurbhanj, September 3, 2019: About 5,000 people attended the 20th death anniversary of Father Arul Doss who was killed by a fundamentalist mob in a remote village of Mayurbhanj district, Odisha.

Christians and others from far and wide attended Mass on September 2 at Jamabani village of Anandapur Catholic Church.

Over the years, the number of pilgrims has grown, said Joseph Hembrom, a participant.

Local people, especially Ho tribes recall Father Doss’ missionary contribution and service as he lived and worked, he added.

After the Mass, people lighted candles at the tomb of Father Doss and prayed for his soul.

A mob of Hindu fanatics killed Father Doss in Jamabani on the night of September 1, 1999.

The priest, a native of Tamil Nadu, was 35 then and had been the priest of the Anandapur church in Balasore diocese for five years.

Local people say he was a real missionary, who served the Ho tribe in Odisha. His witness to the Gospel and message of Christ inspires Christians and others.

Father Doss had arrived at Jamabani on September 1, 1999, along with two church workers, Darsan Birua and Kate Singh Khuntia, and held a prayer meeting there.

According to some reports, they were watching a cultural program after the prayer meeting when a group of 10 to 15 persons, armed with sticks, bows and arrows, attacked them.

Father Doss and the villagers tried to escape, but the attackers pierced the Catholic priest’s body with arrows. The attackers also set fire to the local church before leaving Khuntia in a critical condition.

After prolonged investigation by Central Bureau of Investigation, a federal probe agency, and the subsequent court trial, the mob leader Dara Singh and others were convicted in the killing.

Singh is serving life imprisonment in Odisha for killing Australian missionary Reverend Graham Stuart Staines and his two minor sons on the night of January 22, 1999, in another remote village in Mayurbhanj district.

Singh had alleged links with several Hindu radical groups such as Bajrang Dal (party of the strong and stout) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (national volunteers’ corps).