Police in India are probing a death threat allegedly made by a Maoist group against a Catholic cardinal.
Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, the archbishop of Ranchi, received a threatening letter purportedly from the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI)
The PLFI is a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of India.
The letter demanded a payment of 50 million rupees, or about US$780,000.
It claimed the Church has financially prospered through evangelism.
The cardinal said he did not feel threatened by the letter.
“Even if the threat is real, we won’t pay primarily because we don’t have money,” he said.
Police have beefed up the cardinal’s security detail.