2008-08-25 13:42:19

Orissa Tense: Christians Blamed for Swami’s Murder


 The communally sensitive Kandhamal district in Orissa remains tense after Hindu groups have blamed Christians for killing an 80-year-old Hindu leader and his four followers on Saturday night.
A group of some 30 armed and masked men attacked Vishwa Hindu Parishad Leader Swami Laxmanananda Sarswati’s Ashram. They indiscriminately shot at the gathering on the eve of Krishna Jayanti, the birthday of Krishna, killing the aged leader and his four followers. A Maoist group named, the People’s Liberation Revolutionary Group, has claimed responsibility for the killings and said they killed the Swami because he mixed “religion with politics…” But Hindu leaders say Christian groups are behind the attack in the district, which witnessed fierce Hindu violence on Christians last December. Rejecting the police claim that the incident was the handiwork of Maoists, BJP state leader Suresh Pujari said Laxmanananda had no enmity with red rebels and the reason behind the killing should be thoroughly probed. Swamiji was opposed to religious conversion taking place in various parts of Orissa and has been spearheading a campaign against Christian missioners in the state for decades. He also led a re-conversion movement, which aimed to bring back Hindus who joined Christianity. Catholics priests of the area are moving away to safer places, a Jesuit priest in the area told the Indian Catholic News Service. He said fanatic mobs in the area have already began their attack on Church institutions. Janavikas Kendra in Kanjamandi, a catholic social welfare centre, had to face an attack on Sunday. They burned down the vehicles used by the officials of the Janavikas Centre. The Christians in the area are said to be truly frightened and living in fear.







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