A Christian woman has been raped and brutally murdered in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, according to World Watch Monitor. The 30-year-old woman, whose name has not been released to protect her family's security and privacy, was raped in front of her 3-year-old daughter and killed by two men on Aug. 29 in Bakoudi village. She was murdered when she tried to sound an alarm. Witnesses said she suffered multiple stab wounds to her torso and was strangled with her own sari. The following morning, the child's cries were heard by her grandmother, who found her daughter-in-law's body and called the police. Two suspects, both Hindus, were arrested, but have both been released and it is unclear whether they will face further official charges. The local Christian community has been shocked by the event and expressed concerns about its vulnerability to local authorities. It is uncertain whether the attack took place because of the woman's faith, but Christian women often report threats in the area. Christians comprise a tiny fraction of the population of Madhya Pradesh (0.3 percent) and just 2.3 percent of the total population of India. The country is No. 31 on Open Doors' 2013 World Watch List, largely because of a streak of Hindu nationalism, or Hindutva, that envisions India as a purely Hindu state.
