Chakapad, October 13, 2008
First Published: 00:53 IST(13/10/2008)
Last Updated: 00:57 IST(13/10/2008)
The Orissa administration refuses to blame the Bajrang Dal or any other Hindu group for the sustained attacks on Christians in Kandhamal district and elsewhere in the state, which has taken 35 lives and forced over 15,000 people to flee their homes and seek shelter in relief camps.
It insists the rioters were largely former students of a local school founded and run by Swami Laxmananda, whose murder, allegedly by Maoists, on August 23, sparked off the violence.
“Earlier we thought the mobs comprised people allied to the Bajrang Dal, the VHP or the RSS,” a senior government official told HT. “But after questioning most of the 500-odd people who have been arrested, we find that they have nothing to do with Hindu organisations. They are largely students of Swami Laxmananda who thought he had been killed by Christians and wanted to avenge his death. Some of them are erudite Sanskrit scholars.” more
No comments:
Post a Comment