New Delhi - An Indian court sentenced a man to two years
in jail for the first conviction in the anti-Christian violence in
the eastern state of Orissa, media reports said Wednesday.
A special court at Phulbani, seat of the communally sensitive
Kandhamal district, sentenced a 58-year-old man for setting fire to a
house and threatening to murder a man from the minority Christian
community, the NDTV network reported.
Kandhamal district, about 200 kilometres west of Orissa state
capital Bhubaneshwar, saw widespread communal violence after murders
of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his aides in
August.
Saraswati had been leading a campaign against conversion to
Christianity in the area.
Scores of churches and houses of Christians were set on fire by
Hindu groups, and villagers of both religions clashed. At least 40
people were killed in the state and more than 25,000 Christians were
forced to flee after their homes were attacked by mobs.
Although Maoist militants operating in the area claimed
responsibility for the murders, fanatical Hindu groups suspected
Christian involvement and targeted the religious minority.
The government set up two fast-track courts to try cases related
to the communal violence.
Nearly 700 cases have been filed in various police stations while
police have arrested 1,000 people in connection with the riots, the
PTI news agency reported.
The court decision came days after federal Home Minister
Palaniappan Chidambaram toured the region and apologized to
Christians for the violence against the community.
The minister assured the community that government agencies would
work effectively to rehabilitate the victims.
Kandhamal district, home to about 600,000 people, is among India's
poorest. A majority of the population is tribal. Many have converted
to Christianity over the past few decades. Christian missionaries are
active in the region promoting healthcare and education.
About 25 per cent of Kandhamal's population is Christian compared
to the 2.3-per-cent national figure. Organizations like Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (World Hindu Council) have accused Christian missionaries
and aid workers of luring poor tribal people to convert by promising
them material assistance.
Communally sensitive areas of Orissa, like Kandhamal, have seen
several clashes between Hindus and Christians in the past. In one of
the worst such incidents, Australian missionary Graham Staines and
his two young sons were burned alive in 1999 by a fanatical Hindu mob
that set their car on fire in Keonjhar district.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story