PATNA, JULY 14: The Bihar government today ruled out involvement of communal elements in the killing of Christian missionary, Father Relis Kerketta, whose body was found lying on the Ranchi-Jamshedpur road near Namkum police station in Ranchi district on July 12.Replying to questions raised by Opposition members, including Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly S K Modi, Water Resources Minister Jagdanand Singh told the House, "According to the report of the senior police Superintendent of Ranchi, there is no involvement of any communal element in the killing."Stating that there were bullet wounds below the priest's ear, the Minister said, the SSP's report stated that Kerketta was killed by miscreants and his motor-cycle and Rs 10,000 in his pocket, stolen.Police Superintendents of Hatia and Ranchi rural area were investigating into the circumtances leading to the missionary's death, the Minister said. An FIR has already been registered by the Namkum police station in this regard.Meanwhile, hundreds of Catholic Christians today gathered at the Kantatoli burial ground to put to rest the body of Father Jhon Kerketta.Jhon Kerketta (49), who was the Catholic priest and former provincial of the Catholic church, Ranchi, died at Raj Hospital last afternoon. Since the cause of his death was ``prolonged ailment'' from malaria and jaundice, there has been no controversy about his death. But not so in the case of Remis Kerketta (48).Remis Kerketta was a Catholic priest cum principal of the St Xavier's school at Bundu block township, 45 km from Ranchi. His body was found lying on the Ranchi-Tata Road near Jamchua village, 22 km from Bundu, on Wednesday evening.After police recovered his body and removed the helmet, it noticed that the skull was ``in ruptures''. Subsequently, Inspector Bhagwan Das, who is in charge of the Chutia police station, sent the body for post mortem.The post mortem on Thursday attributed the death to ``a bullet injury'', raising suspicion that Father Remis was murdered.Ranchi SSP Gupteshwar Pandey, who visited the site last evening, linked the death to an old case near the same site where a truck-driver was robbed and killed three months ago.Even Lajlus Minj, the vice-principal of St Xavier's School and a Catholic priest, does not refute the police version. ``It looks like an usual case of robbery and murder without any communal motive,'' Minj told mediapersons.Remis had left the school in Bundu for Ranchi on his motor bike on Wednesday and returned in the afternoon after collecting Rs 10,000 from the Catholic church office at Madresa House and visiting the district court here in connection with his school's land dispute case.
