13 sentenced for Orissa violence

(May 20, 2011) A fast track court in eastern India’s Orissa state sentenced 13 people to five years hard labour on Thursday for arson and anti-Christian violence in the state’s Kandhamal district. The court also slapped each of them with a fine of 2,000 rupees (US$44) for burning down Christian houses on August 26, 2008. Failure to pay would mean a three month additional jail term, Judge Shoban Das told them. “They burned the houses of Christians, who fled to the jungle for safety. Even though the victims have not been compensated for their losses, the convictions should bring them some sense of justice and security,” said prosecution lawyer Rajkishore Pradhan. He said the victims were frightened but had plucked up enough courage to testify against the suspects, which helped their case. Meanwhile, 12 suspects were acquitted during another hearing on Wednesday in a similar case. Judge Biranchi Narayan Mishra said there was a not enough evidence to tie the 12 accused to arson and rioting in Sripala in Kandhamal district. Their acquittal was met with disappointment by lawyer-priest Father Dibakar Parichha who works with the victims. He said out of 3, 232 criminal complaints filed, 1, 541 have been acknowledged and of the 327 cases which have reached trial, the accused were acquitted in 169 of them. Anti-Christian violence in 2008 claimed more than 100 lives while 6,500 houses and 300 churches were burned in 450 villages across Kandhamal.