BJP MLA accused of Orissa murder surrenders

(March 11, 2011) A state legislator convicted of murder during the 2008 anti-Christian atrocities in eastern India’s Orissa state has surrendered before a local court more than a month after the Supreme Court withdrew his bail. Manoj Kumar Pradhan, a legislator of the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, surrendered on Wednesday before a fast track court in Orissa’s Phulbani district. Pradhan was sentenced to seven years hard labour by the fast track court in June, 2010 for the murder of Parikhita Digal of Budedipada. He represents G Udaygiri constituency in Kandhamal district, which was the focal point of the anti-Christian riots. On January 25, India’s Supreme court revoked Pradhan’s earlier bail by Orissa High Court. Pradhan is thought to have been the mastermind behind the Kandhamal riots and has been accused of involvement in 12 murders. Parikhita Digal’s widow is still in hiding and cannot go back to her village. The Kandhamal violence claimed more than 100 lives, displaced 54,000 people and saw 6,500 Christian houses ransacked or destroyed.