OKARA, July 5: Half a dozen assailants early Saturday shot dead a 39-year-old Roman Catholic priest in his home here.

Father George Ibrahim of the Catholic Church at the Mitchell’s Fruit Farms had been sleeping at the time of the incident after returning from the DHQ Hospital in Okara around midnight. He had visited the hospital to inquire about the health of a convalescing member of his congregation.

The news of the priest’s murder spread like wildfire, prompting Christians to gather at the scene of the crime.

Punjab IGP Syed Masud Ahmad Shah arrived at Renala Khurd to supervise investigation.

Ruling out terrorism and dacoity as motives for the murder, the police had initially attributed it to a dispute between two factions of the Christian community, saying a clash in which some people had been injured a few days ago might have led to Father Ibrahim’s murder. However, the Christians protest had forced the police to include sections of dacoity and terrorism in the FIR.