Catholic priest, nun murdered in Dehra Dun

DEHRA DUN: Close on the heels of attacks on churches in different parts of the country, two missionaries were found murdered at their hermitage here on Monday morning.

Sixty-year-old Father Samuel and Sister Mercy, 35, were found dead in separate rooms at their ashram Samarpanalaya at Chhota Rampur, police said.

Preliminary investigations showed both were strangulated, they said, adding their bodies had been sent for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of the death.

The bodies, tied with ropes, were found by a watchman of the hermitage who immediately informed police. All the belongings in the two rooms were found scattered, police said adding this might have been done to mislead investigators.

Father Samuel alias Swami Aste, who hails from Meerut, was living in the ashram for the past 20 years. Sister Mercy was from Delhi. Senior police officers visited the scene and were supervising investigations.

The Congress condemned the attack and asked the Centre to take action against the BJP government in Uttarakhand. The Centre recently issued advisories to Karnataka and Orissa governments under Article 355 in the wake of attacks on Christians and churches in the two states.