(September 10, 2010) A fast track court in eastern India’s Orissa state on Thursday
sentenced a Member of the Legislative Assembly to six years of rigorous imprisonment
for his role in the murder of a Dalit Christian during the brutal anti-Christian riots
in Kandhamal district in 2008. Manoj Pradhan, an MLA of the Pro-Hindu Bharatiya
Janata Party, BJP, was handed the sentence and fined Rs 15,500 for murdering Bikram
Nayak, a Dalit Christian from Bududipada of Tiangia village under Raikia police station
limit over two years ago. The two-month-long riot, triggered by the killing of Hindu
leader Laxmanananda Saraswati, claimed 38 lives and witnessed burning of about 4600
houses and over 150 churches and prayer houses. Nayak a 30-year old kerosene salesman,
was beaten to death outside his house by a mob. He died from head wounds. Among the
main perpetrators of violence, Pradhan has been cited in 38 murder cases. Of these
only six have been considered by the court. On 29 June the tribunal sentenced him
to seven years for the murder of another Christian, Parikh Naik. The sentence was
never served thanks to the Orissa High Court, which granted him freedom on probation.
Fr Dibakar Parichha, a lawyer and supervisor of the trial said that Pradhan’s conviction
provides a ray of hope for the victims of the Kandhamal riots. According to Markos
Joseph Kunnumpurath, a lawyer who has been representing Christians at trials in recent
years, "now the victims can return to have a little confidence in Indian legal system."