Orissa Christians scared as 1st anniversary of violence looms

August 7, 2009) The head of the Catholic Church in Orissa state says Christians here are becoming more fearful as the first anniversary of anti-Christian violence they had experienced approaches. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar says Christians are tense after an attack on a Church worker on August 6. A gang attacked Chikusagar Nayak, who works with the archdiocese’s justice and peace commission in Kandhamal district, the centre of last year’s violence. Nayak was returning on a motorbike to Udayagiri, a major town in Kandhamal, from a village where he had gone to counsel victims of last year’s violence, when the attack occurred. Archbishop Cheenath said the Catholic youth is helping to prepare witnesses for court cases against perpetrators of the violence. Police in Orissa have registered more than 1,000 cases related to the anti-Christian violence that began on Aug. 24, 2008. Church people complain that Hindu militants have threatened victims and witnesses and told them not to appear in court against them. Nayak, who suffered a broken arm in the attack, said his assailants were apparently waiting for him. “One kicked my bike and another snatched my bag,” he said. The gang sped away on their motorbikes when they saw other people approaching. Nayak said he managed to start his vehicle and return home and register a police complaint.