Tribal, non-tribal conflicts keep popping up in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: Resentment of tribals against non-tribals cornering their benefits is growing gradually in the State, taking violent form in Narayanpatna block in Koraput district.

Even though the situation is limping back to normalcy with the passage of time, the incidents of the last two months in the block, which is also a Maoist-infested area, has led to non-tribals leaving the area in fear. Reports reaching here said that the tribals are now slowly returning land forcibly acquired by them from some non-tribal families.

While the State Government has constituted a high-level committee to solve the problems which mostly are land related, the non-tribals are not yet fully confident of returning to their villages.

Elsewhere also, the situation is slowly turning serious. Though the situation has not aggravated like in Narayanpatna, rallies taken out by the tribals from time to time have put the district administrations on the defensive. Tribals in several districts are demanding that those who have usurped their benefits should be identified and condign punishment should be initiated against them. The State Government has made a beginning in Kandhamal district where the problem was identified as the root cause behind the riots which claimed more than 40 lives.

Persons who had submitted fake certificates to get government jobs and corner other benefits available for the tribals were identified and two dismissed from service. Similar demands have been raised by tribals from Balangir, Sonepur and Nuapara districts.

The white paper on law and order circulated by the State Government has admitted that such demands are coming in from the tribals of various districts on a regular basis. It said that the situations were brought under control by the timely intervention of the police on many occasions.

Meanwhile, 1,639 cases of torture on SC and ST were lodged during last year. Out of these, police have filed chargesheets in 196 cases. It said that chargesheets will be filed in 1,246 more cases. All 196 cases in which chargesheets have been filed are sub judice. It said that 1,355 cases are under police investigation.

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Status of Government help in Kandhamal: Official figures say less than half homes rebuilt

Bhubaneswar, Aug 28 (PTI) A year after houses and places of worship were ravaged during communal violence in Orissa's Kandhamal district, only 1981 houses were rebuilt completely while 70 Churches and other prayer houses have received financial assistance from the state government, official sources said here today.
Out of the 4600 houses damaged in the riots in the aftermath of VHP leader Laxamananda Saraswati's killing on August 23 last year, a total of 4435 families have received the first instalment for reconstruction of their houses, they said.
Similarly, 2868 people have so far got second phase instalment for house building while 1981 houses were completely rebuilt, said Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy, who reviewed the progress on the special package for the riot victims.
Describing the rehabilitation project as "satisfactory", Tripathy attributed the delay in repairing of houses to the unwillingness of people in returning to villages even after the tension eased out.

PTI

In Kandhamal, youth clubs to heal riot scars

Bhubaneswar : A year after the Kandhamal riots, the district administration is hoping that a unique initiative involving youth will help defuse the hostility between the tribal Hindus and Dalit Christians, even as it spreads awareness about government schemes.

Kandhamal witnessed a spate of violence after VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples were gunned down by Maoists in Jalespeta on August 23 last year. More than 40 people were killed in the riots and hundreds injured. Thousands of Christians lost their homes and took refuge in several relief camps, two of which still house around 700 people altogether.

However, the government hopes that a multi-departmental and multi-structured administrative approach called Antaranga (intimate) will help salve some of the wounds left behind by the riots. The programme has been launched in around 90 gram panchayats in an effort to bring different communities together.

“Under the programme, we are setting up Antaranga clubs with 20 youths as members who would be made aware of different government programmes. The youth clubs have equal representation from Christians, Hindus, Dalits, tribals and women. We have observed that if the energies of the youths are not channelised properly, then riots like those of 2008 may recur,” said Kandhamal Collector Krishan Kumar.

District officials said lack of development in Kandhamal contributed to the communal tension in the district. While some people gravitated towards Christianity as a way to better their lot, Hindu backlash also started as proponents of the Hindutva brigade claimed that the missionaries, funded by foreign NGOs, were out to make the district a “land of Christians”.

“For illiterate tribals and Dalits, flitting from one religion to another was their only vocation as basic development eluded them. They simply did not have any idea about the government programmes being implemented in the district and thus take advantage,” said an official.

The aim is to put in place 100 such clubs with 2,000 youths as members by the end of September.

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Orissa, acquitted for lack of evidence one of the brains behind anti-Christian pogrom

by Nirmala Carvalho. www.asianews.it
Charges of arson against Manoj Pradhan, one of 14 charges against him, are dropped. BJP leader and elected to the legislature of Orissa, he is accused of killing 7 Christians. Activists denounce the inaction of the administration in punishing those responsible for crimes.

Kandhamal (AsiaNews) - Manoj Pradhan was acquitted of arson, in one of the 14 charges against pending against him. He is one of the brains of the pogrom against Christians in Orissa, a local court has acquitted him for "lack of evidence." The Court's decision casts Christian activists into confusion, who report yet another case of government "inertia" in "punishing those responsible" for violence.

Manoj Pradhan, an right-wing activist belonging to the Hindu nationalist movement Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and recently elected to the Legislative Assembly of Orissa, is accused of 14 instances of violence, including 7 murders of Christians. One concerns an arson attack on the village of Pisamaha, August 27, 2008, in which many homes of Christian families were destroyed. Gutia Digal, a resident of the village, lodged a complaint against Pradhan; in the trial initiated against him, the court decided to acquit because the evidence "is insufficient to issue a verdict."

Harsh reaction from Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), who speaks of "inertia of the administration in seeing justice done for the atrocities committed against Christians." He denounces the "free hand enjoyed by the Sangh Parivar, the Hindu nationalist movement," in attacking and killing Christians, burning and destroying houses and property in Kandhamal, where many of the guilty "still roam freely and unpunished”.

The GCIC once again calls for "justice" and "measures" against those who want to "intimidate the Christians who testify" in the trails surrounding events in Orissa. "The state is failing - adds Sajan K George - in the primary task of using his power to ensure security and justice ... The GCIC has a list of 123 people killed (the total number of deaths exceeds 500, note) during anti-violence -Christian".

The Christian activist, finally, points also denounces "inadequate compensation" and "massive delays" in compensation for victims of violence, along with possible "cases of corruption by officials" of state government.

40 students flee Kandhamal school

BERHAMPUR: About 40 students ran away from a hostel of a government-run SC/ST school in Kandhamal district Thursday.

The pupils of sevashram (primary school) at Bhaliapani in Tumudibandh block said they are "getting a raw deal" from the headmistress. "The quality of food is very bad. When we tell her about it, she takes a non-chllanr approach. She even refuses to give us blankets and school uniforms," said a student on condition of anonymity.
The students also put up posters on the school walls, demanding the headmistress' ouster.
District authorities denied the charges. "Someone with an ill intention may have instigated the innocent children," an official said.
District welfare officer (Kandhamal) N R Kanhar and other officials rushed to the village to take stock of the situation. Kanhar said 12 students have returned to the school. "Efforts are on to bring back the others," he added.
The Bhaliapani incident follows cases reported from two kanyashrams (state-run high schools for girls) at Pakalamahala in Daringibadi block and Lingagada in Baliguda recently.
Alarmed over the spurt of cases of runaway students, the state government has asked panchayats to monitor the running of SC/ST schools. The government has also asked block development officers to hold regular meetings with panchayat representatives, headmasters and hostel superintendents to discuss various problems faced by the institutions.
"When elected representatives monitor the management of schools and discuss problems faced by teachers and students, the government can take effective measures to improve the situation," the government circular said.
The directive, however, remains only in pen and paper. Most BDOs in tribal-dominated Kandhamal district have failed to call such a meeting even as schools run by the SC/ST welfare department continue to face a host of problems, including alleged mismanagement.

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Religious Freedom Panel Slams India

By Jacqueline L. Salmon, Washington Post

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) plans to announce later today that it has placed India on its watch list because of that country's "inadequate" response to religious violence, particularly against the country's Muslim and Christian minorities.
USCIRF is an independent U.S. agency whose job is to make sure religious freedom is taken into account in U.S. foreign policy. Its watch list consists of countries with governments that tolerate "serious violations of religious freedom." The watch list isn't as draconian as the commission's list of "countries of particular concern" (for governments that tolerate more severe violations of religious freedom).

Either way, it's not a list that most foreign governments like to find themselves on. (Some on the list, such as Burma and Iran, probably don't care.)

It's also likely to annoy the State Department, which has long complained that foreign government mistakenly believe that the commission makes U.S. policy--which it doesn't. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited India in July, when the countries announced agreements to strengthen a relationship that has dramatically improved in recent years.

Yesterday, a State Department spokesperson stressed that the commission is an independent federal commission.

"It doesn't speak for the U.S. government," she said. "While the State Department considers its recommendation very carefully, it is not bound by them."

There are already signs that USCIRF's decision to place India on its watch list could cause problems between the U.S. and India. Some of the eight members of USCIRF had planned a June trip to the country to look into reports of religious violence, but their applications for visas were turned down.

Conservative groups from the Hindu majority criticized the visit. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) of America warned in a statement that a trip would signal that President Barack Obama's administration "does not care if its relationship with a peaceful, democratic nation is jeopardized."

In an interview, USCIRF chairman Leonard Leo rejected the warnings that placing India on the watch list would jeopardize U.S.-Indian relations.

"We always have policy recommendations, and we try to be fairly specific about what our concerns are," he said. "We try not to paint with a broad brush, which is meant to be a signal that we are trying to be honest and fair...We're trying to spark a meaningful dialogue and create a partnership for improving the situation."

In its report, USCIRF paints a grim picture of religious persecution in India, charging that national and local judiciaries and police are unwilling or unable to deal with the religious violence that regularly rocks the country. That includes the 2002 mass killings of Muslims in the state of Gujarat that left 2,000 dead and attacks on Christian churches and individuals in the state of Orissa in 2007 and 2008. USCIRF also defends proselytizers, criticizing laws in several Indian states that make religious conversions difficult. The laws generally require government officials to determine whether it is a "sincere" conversion.

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Christian body moves court over distribution of Bible

BANGALORE: A Christian organisation on Monday petitioned the Karnataka High Court against what it alleged as illegal attempts by the State Government to prevent the distribution of the Bible in schools in Karnataka.

Christian Legal Association said the State Government was perusing a policy of selectively propagating only one religion while ignoring other religions. It charged the State Government with preventing dissemination of knowledge of the Bible by preventing public educational institutions from receiving such books.

It alleged that the State had issued a circular on June 29, 2006, directing all educational institutions to purchase books pertaining to Hindu religion.

The association said when it had sought permission to distribute free copies of the Bible in schools, the State had initially agreed but backtracked subsequently. It urged the court to direct the State to permit distribution of the Bible in schools.

A public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking census of backward classes in the State came up for hearing before the Karnataka High Court.

Petitioner A. Mohanakrishnan urged the court to direct the State to take up census of backward classes and to survey their social, economic and educational standing.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran and Justice V.G. Sabhahit adjourned hearing of the case.

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Christian body moves court over distribution of Bible

BANGALORE: A Christian organisation on Monday petitioned the Karnataka High Court against what it alleged as illegal attempts by the State Government to prevent the distribution of the Bible in schools in Karnataka.

Christian Legal Association said the State Government was perusing a policy of selectively propagating only one religion while ignoring other religions. It charged the State Government with preventing dissemination of knowledge of the Bible by preventing public educational institutions from receiving such books.

It alleged that the State had issued a circular on June 29, 2006, directing all educational institutions to purchase books pertaining to Hindu religion.

The association said when it had sought permission to distribute free copies of the Bible in schools, the State had initially agreed but backtracked subsequently. It urged the court to direct the State to permit distribution of the Bible in schools.

A public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking census of backward classes in the State came up for hearing before the Karnataka High Court.

Petitioner A. Mohanakrishnan urged the court to direct the State to take up census of backward classes and to survey their social, economic and educational standing.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice P.D. Dinakaran and Justice V.G. Sabhahit adjourned hearing of the case.

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16 acquitted in Kandhamal riots case

Phulbani (Orissa), Aug 1 (PTI) Sixteen persons arrested in connection with the killing of an OSAP constable and setting fire to a police station in Orissa's Kandhamal district during communal riots last year, were acquitted by a local court here due to lack of evidence.
The Additional Sessions Judge, fast track court, Phulbani passed the order yesterday.
Aggrieved over the police action against them during the communal riots, a mob consisting of mostly tribals, had attacked the police station at Gochhapada, 30 km from here on the night of September 15, 2008, the prosecution said.
They had also gunned down Bibhudendra Biswal, an on-duty jawan of the OSAP 3rd batallion near the police station.
All the accused belonged to nearby villages of Tambisuga, Gorasahi, Pipalmal, Murja and Gochhapara.

Fresh tension in Kandhamal

PHULBANI (ORISSA): School students allegedly assaulted two persons for carrying beef through their institute premises in Kotgarh area, triggering tension in the communally sensitive Kandhamal district, official sources said today.

Nakul Nayak of Belghar village and Surendra Nayak of Kotgarh allegedly carried beef through the premises of Asaramji Bapu High School on Sunday.

The students, who are opposed to cow slaughter, caught the duo and allegedly assaulted them before handing them over to the police, the sources said.

Sent to judicial custody

The duo was sent to judicial custody after their bail petition was rejected by a local court. “The beef consignment has been sent to Baliguda for examination,” the sources said.

Besides religious conversion, cow slaughter is another factor behind frequent tension between the two communities.

Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar rushed to Kotgarh along with additional force as precautionary measure since the incident occurred just ahead of Janmashtami on August 13.

“The situation is under control,” Mr. Kumar said.

The district administration has convened a peace meeting on August 5 in order to impress upon leaders of different communities to refrain from activities that hurt each other. — PTI

Slain Kerala priest's family want another autopsy

he family of Catholic priest James Mukalel, who was found dead on the roadside in Karnataka's Dakshin Kannada district earlier this week, have decided to go in for another post-mortem to ascertain the cause of his death.

The 38-year-old's body is now at the St. Sebastian's Church at Vellad in Kannur district and the last rites would be performed on Saturday by a team of priests, said Deny George, a family friend of Mukalel.

"Once the service gets over, the body will be taken to the Government Medical College at Kozhikode for another post-mortem because close relatives, including his parents and his brother Tomy, feel there is something wrong," George, an advocate by profession, told IANS.

"The body has already undergone a post-mortem in Mangalore and arrived in Kannur on Friday evening. As and when the body comes back from the hospital, it would be buried in the cemetery at St. Sebastian's Church," he said.

Mukalel's naked body was lying at a distance from his motorbike on which he was returning to Kutrupady near Belthangady in Dakshina Kannada after attending the funeral of another parish priest in the adjacent Charmadi village.

The young priest was recently posted at St. Mary's Church at Kutrupady after a three-year service at Thotthady near Belthangady.

The police in Karnataka have already registered a case of unnatural death. The body did not bear external wounds or signs of attack. The coastal district police have formed a team to investigate the priest's death as there was no pillion-rider with him or witness to give an account of the incident.

The coastal district had witnessed a spate of attacks last year on churches and chapels by Hindu activists protesting alleged forcible conversions by missionaries and priests.

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Dharma Sena attacks house of love, Jabalpur

A mob of about 40 Hindu extremists allegedly from Dharam Sena attacked Sneh Sadan Institute (Home of Love) run by the Christians on July 26 in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
According to an EFI correspondent, Akhilesh Edgar, at about 12:30 a.m. the Hindu extremists, shouting anti-Christians tried to enter the handicapped and mentally retarded institute run by the Methodist Church.
The extremists accused the institute manager, Mrs Lily Paul of forceful conversion and filed a complaint against her prior to the attack. The police arrived on the spot before the extremists ‘ done any major harm to the Christians, according to reports.
The police took written statement about the institute. After an enquiry, the police provided the Christians police protection and promised to give them security in the future. The incident was flashed in local dailies.
Sneh Sadan was set up in 1779 and has been the "home sweet home" for many special people. There are about 40 people living in the institute now.
Praise God for the timely intervention of the police and please pray for all the people in the home.

Main kingpin and key accused of the Kandhamal riots back in prison

Manoj Pradhan, BJP MLA from G Udayagiri who was the main kingpin and key accused of the Kandhamal riots is back in jail after his extended interim bail term expired on 31^st July 2009 (Friday). Pradhan is a key accused in the Kandhamal riots that broke out after the assassination of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in 23^rd August 2008.

Pradhan was granted bail by Orissa High Court on July 4, but walked out of prison the next day. He took oath as a member of the august house on July 6.

Pradhan is the one amongst the only six BJP MLAs who had won the vote staying behind the bars. 14 cases of murder, attempt murder, riots and arson, were registered against him.

The court had granted him bail for fifteen days only. But as his bail term was about to expire, he approached the court again and succeeded in seeing his bail period extended till July 31.

Priest killed in Karnataka

A priest was killed Wednesday in the southern Indian state of Karnataka where Christians have been targeted in violent attacks, the Vatican-based news agency Asianews said Thursday.

The naked body of James Mukalel, 39, was found Thursday morning on a road leading to his parish in the diocese of Belthangady.

According to initial investigations, he was killed while returning to his parish after having conducted a funeral in a neighbouring village.

The bishop of the diocese Lawrence Mukkuzhy did not put forward any theories as to the motive for the killing, but ruled out a straightforward criminal act.

Another diocesan official Tomy Mattom said it looked like an "execution." He said the body had no obvious wounds and initial information led him to believe the priest had been strangled.

An autopsy must be carried out soon to determine the cause of death.

Indian Christian groups have demanded an inquiry into the killing and other attacks on Christians in the region, Asianews said.

Twenty churches and chapels have been destroyed in the past year in Karnataka.

In the eastern state of Orissa last year, thousands of Christians were forced to flee after Hindu mobs burned their houses, churches, orphanages and schools. At least 35 people were killed in the attacks.

Christians account for 2.3 percent of India's billion-plus Hindu majority population.

Minority leaders for longer stay of CRPF in Kandhamal

Bhubaneswar, Jul 23 (PTI) Eleven months after the Kandhamal riots rocked Orissa, minority leaders today sought continued deployment of CRPF in the strife-torn district, claiming there was still fear and anxiety among people due to the alleged pressure to re-convert.
"An atmosphere of fear and anxiety still exists in Kandhamal despite considerable improvement in situation.
People are threatened and asked to re-embrace Hinduism when they return from relief camps to their villages," Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Raphael Cheenath told reporters here.
Favouring retention of CRPF in the riot-hit district for more time, he said both the central paramilitary and state forces should remain there to instil confidence among people and restore normalcy.

PTI

Naveen for stay of CRPF in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: Worried over back-to-back attacks by the Naxalites in different parts of the State, including the killing of two security personnel in Sundargarh district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday sent an SOS to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram requesting him to allow the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to continue in Kandhamal district till September 30. Naveen has also reiterated his demand for seven more battalions of CRPF to be deployed in the Naxalite-affected districts. The Centre has started withdrawal of CRPF from Kandhamal despite requests from Naveen to extend their stay. Now, five companies of CRPF are left in the strife-torn district.

The base of the Naxalites has increased in Kandhamal which witnessed communal violence last year. The attack on the Katingia police outpost under Bamunigaon police station by the Left-Wing Extremists (LWEs) late on Friday has left the district administration on tenterhooks as it will now have to deal with the situation without the Central forces.

Underscoring the need for deployment of CRPF in the district, Naveen said Kandhamal is Naxalite-affected and had witnessed communal strife last year.

The Centre has recently included Kandhamal in security-related expenditure (SRE) scheme because of the repeated attacks by the Naxalites at different places. The Naxalites had attacked a forest beat house near Daringbadi and triggered landmine blast. Sporadic incidents have taken place in the district pointing to increased presence of the extremists in the area.

Attacks on police stations and forest beat houses in inaccessible areas of Koraput, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and Kandhamal districts have now become regular.

The activities of the Naxalites are on the rise in Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon blocks of Koraput district for the last six months. Ten security personnel were killed at Narayanpatna in a landmine blast suspected to have been triggered by the ultras 24 hours before the visit of Chidambaram to the area last month.

At a time when the Government is grappling with the problem in Narayanpatna block where tribals have seized land from non-tribals during the last one month leading to fleeing of non-tribals from the area, the killing of the sub-inspector in Sundargarh has put the police on the backfoot.

Last month, another police officer was killed by the Naxalites in Sambalpur district.

The incidents have turned out to be embarrassing for the State Government as the Budget session of the Assembly is going on. The Opposition is planning to raise the issue in the House on Monday during the discussion on the Budget for the Home department.

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Kandhamal riot accused MLA's bail extended

Phulbani (Orissa), Jul 17 (PTI) A local court today extended till July 31 the interim bail granted to BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan, accused of inciting communal riots in Orissa's Kandhamal district.
The fast track court of Sovan Kumar Das here extended the bail period of Pradhan, who was granted conditional interim bail for 15 days on July four.
The extension was granted to him on the basis of Orissa High Court's order, special public prosecutor Bijay Patnaik said.
After taking oath as a member of Orissa Assembly following his release on July 5, a day after getting bail, Pradhan had moved the court seeking extension of the bail period to enable him to attend Assembly proceedings

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Orissa nun rape case: Chargesheet filed against seven

Bhubaneswar : Unable to nab two of the 19 accused persons in the nun rape case, the Crime Branch (CB) of Orissa police moved the court seeking legal sanctions to declare the duo as absconders even as it filed chargesheet against seven others on Friday.

Though the CB sleuths had so far arrested 17 persons on charges of their alleged involvement in the rape of a 29-year-old catholic nun at Kandhamal on August 25, 2008, it failed to arrest the two others even as several notices had been served at their addresses.

The duo identified as Gururam Patra and Pandit Bisi Majhi neither responded to the CB notices, nor cooperated with the investigation despite several warnings, a senior official engaged in the investigation said.

We can hang notices on the doors of the accused persons if the court allows us to declare them as absconder, Investigating Officer of the nun rape case, Dilip Kumar Mohanty said adding that the police could seize their property if they fail to surrender before the investigating agency.

Meanwhile, the CB had already filed chargesheet against the 17 persons in two phases. While chargesheets were filed at Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate's (sdjm) court at Baliguda earlier, similar documents were produced at the court against seven other accused on Friday.

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Kandhamal: Posters against BJP MP

Still recovering from last year’s communal riots, Kandhamal witnessed fresh tension on Thursday after hand-written posters containing threats to a local BJP legislator — accused of leading murderous mobs during the riots — appeared in Raikia area of the district.

Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said at least two posters warning G Udayagiri’s BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan and Bajrang Dal activists of dire consequences for “their role in the riots” were found pasted in Raikia.

This is the place which bore the brunt of the anti-Christian riots that followed the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda. At least 38 people were killed in the riots and hundreds were rendered homeless in the violence.

Police officials said the threat posters could have been the handiwork of Maoists as the area has a strong rebel presence. But they said they were also examining other possibilities.

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Pastor beaten up in Hosur

Uddinapally, 8 June 2009: Pastor Paul Chinnaswamy (50) was attacked by two young men on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. while he was sitting in front of his church in Uddinapally, Hosur Taluk, Krishnagiri District in Tamil Nadu.

Pastor Paul was fasting on Saturday morning and sitting outside his church alone when the attackers, both around thirty years old, came on a bike and stopped in front of the pastor. They asked him, “Why do you have to do these things?” Without another word, they got off the bike. One of them kicked the pastor in his chest so hard that the pastor dropped to the ground in pain. Before he could get up, the other man punched the pastor in his jaw, breaking two of his teeth.

About 200 meters away, there were several villagers who were making bricks. When they saw the pastor being attacked, they ran towards him to help him. When the attackers saw the villagers running towards them, they got on their bike and fled. The villagers picked up the pastor and rushed him to a nearby clinic for first aid.

After the pastor was attended to medically, the villagers and he went to the nearby Uddinapally Police Station and lodged a complaint there. When asked by the police if he knew who his attackers were, the pastor said he did not know them and had not even noticed their number plate, but he could recognize them if he saw them. Hearing this the police took him to three surrounding villages but the pastor was not able to identify his attackers.

It is most likely that the attackers were from a distant village and from radical Hindu groups. This is one of several attacks that have occurred against Pastor Paul over the past few years. He has been warned several times by the police to be careful of Hindutva groups in the area. His family and his home have been attacked several times over 2007-2008 and he has received numerous threats as well.

At the time of the attack, Pastor Paul was alone. His family was visiting his ailing mother-in-law in Kelamangalam, 8 kms away from Uddinapally.

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