A Catholic priest who faced a police complaint for a social media post protesting recent anti-Christian violence in the Indian state of Manipur committed suicide on Sept. 13, with his body found hanging from a tree in a cemetery.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Sagar in India announced the death of Father Anil Francis in a statement to the press on Sept.15, saying, “We are extremely pained and sad over the death of Fr. Anil Fran-cis, who was known for his commitment to the works given to him and dedicated to the values preached by him.”
According to the statement, Francis’s death is under police investigation and the diocese is cooperating fully. It also noted that in a suicide note, Francis had requested that his body be cremated.
The suicide came shortly after Francis had posted an image to social media depicting a woman wrapped in the colors of the Indian flag being held by two men, with a mob behind them, with the text, “Wounded Manipur: 2 women paraded naked, gang-raped, not none arrested since two months. We are ashamed. When will peace prevail? Pray for Manipur.”
“We realize that Fr. AniI Francis was under tension and pressure over an FIR lodged against him over a post he had shared on Manipur violence on social media,” the diocese said in its statement, referring to the police complaint.