A Christian man has been found virtually beheaded in an interior village of India’s Odisha State in what family members and many others believe was an anti-Christian attack.

They dismiss a police claim that he was killed by politically motivated Maoist rebels. The body of 40-year-old Anant Ram Gand, father of four girls and a boy, was on Feb. 11 found on a road in Bhenas village of Nabarangapur district, local pastor Chandan Jani told ucanews.com.

Pastor Jani said the victim’s throat was cut and his head had been crushed by a heavy object. “He seemed to have died unmoved from the spot of attack,” said the evangelical pastor, who helped the widow to bury his body.