DHAKA: Church officials and tribal activists have called on the authorities to ensure justice following the mysterious murder of a tribal Catholic villager in northern Bangladesh. 

Louis Soren, 40, a day laborer and father of two from Chapra village of Bhutahara Catholic Church in Naogaon district went missing Jan. 8. His body was found the next morning in a nearby field with multiple stab wounds and burn marks. 

Soren's wife Jugita Mardi filed a murder case with Niamotpur police, but no one has been arrested yet.

"His body had stab wounds ... and parts of his face and hands were disfigured by burns. It seems the attackers tried to erase all the evidence," said Obaidul Haque, police spokesman.

"We are still looking for a motive behind the murder and are waiting for the post-mortem report. Once we determine the motive and identify attackers, we will proceed with the case and make arrests," Haque added.

Soren's family members say they are also in dark about the motive behind the murder.

"My brother was not wealthy and he didn't have any enemies. We don't know why he was killed and who did it," said Sister Celestina Soren, of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), Soren's younger sister.

"We want justice for the killing, and the government needs to support us to get justice, because our family doesn't have the ability to pay for the court case," Sister Soren said.

Italian PIME Father Emilio Spinelli, pastor of Bhutahara Catholic Church, also called for justice.

"The authorities must find out and punish the culprits who committed such a heinous crime. People are living in fear and the authorities must ensure their safety,"

Tribal leaders said they suspect a possible land dispute behind the murder.

"We suspect Louis Soren was killed over a dispute related to land, which is a common problem for tribal people in this area. Once we confirm the case, we will hold a protest to demand justice," said Rabindranath Soren, president of National Adivasi Parishad, a tribal rights group covering northern Bangladesh.

The organization estimates that more than 140 tribal people were killed and dozens of tribal women raped by Muslims for their lands in the past four decades. Land disputes also forced more 10,000 tribal people to migrate to neighboring India.

About 1.6 million tribal people from dozens of small ethnic groups live in northern Bangladesh alongside majority Muslims. Tribal people are mostly Hindu and nature worshippers, but thousands have embraced Christianity over the past century.

During British colonial rule, the tribals migrated from various Indian states to work as railroad, construction and agricultural workers. The British gave them land to live on and cultivate mostly through verbal permission. This has led to decades of disputes over land titles.--Ucannews.com