Fresh communal trouble in Orissa despite curfew 26 Dec 2007, 1220 hrs IST, IANS
BHUBANESWAR: Despite indefinite curfew, fresh communal violence was reported on Wednesday morning from Orissa's riot-hit Kandhamal district with clashes in various places and a church and a former MP's house being attacked. According to police, hundreds of tribals attacked a church at Sarsalanda village under Sadar police station, about 20 km from Phulbani town. A mob also vented its ire on the home of former MP Sribatsa Digal in Line Pada at Phulbani town, an official of the district intelligence bureau said. Besides, there were reports of communal clashes from half a dozen places but the details were awaited due to "disruption of communication", the official said. All these incidents occurred late on Tuesday night despite curfew being imposed in the troubled areas of Baliguda, Daringbadi and Brahmani Gaon as well as at the district headquarters of Phulbani. Curfew was clamped on Christmas night after one person was allegedly killed and over a dozen injured in clashes between Hindus and Christians in the wake of a shutdown called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to protest an attack on a Hindu leader. The four-hour shutdown was to protest Monday's attack on the vehicle of local Hindu leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati near Daringbadi when he was on his way to perform a yagna there. Saraswati and a person accompanying him were injured and their vehicle partially damaged, district police chief Narasimha Bhol, who is camping in the area, said. Although more than 1,000 policemen were deployed in sensitive places on Tuesday, people could not reach many of the troubled spots as VHP supporters blocked roads with logs. "The roads are still blocked and the police are trying to reach the village. The state government has sent para-military forces and extra police force to the region to control the situation. They are on their way," Bhol said. The trouble had started on Monday morning in the Christian-majority Brahmanigaon village, 150 km from the district headquarters of Phulbani, over Christmas celebrations. While the Christian community wanted to celebrate the day in a grand way, the local Hindus opposed the plan, Bhol said. This led to clashes between the Hindu and Christian groups. The attack on Saraswati led to escalation in the violence. Besides the VHP, the local Kui tribal community had also given a shutdown call demanding immediate solution to their problems. The clashes took place mostly when VHP supporters attacked shops in various places. At least a dozen churches and a dozen of vehicles including two police vehicles were set on fire. Besides, the protestors attacked house of the elder brother of the state steel and mines minister Padmanav Behera and torched one of his vehicles on Tuesday, police sources said. The government has deputed the district superintendents of the neighbouring three districts - Gajapati, Boudh and Ganjam - to the spot, a senior police official in Bhubaneswar said. The trouble areas are a part of the undivided Phulbani district, considered one of the most communally sensitive regions in the state with numerous clashes reported between Hindus and Christians in the past. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Fresh_violence_in_Orissa_despite_curfew/articleshow/2651824.cms Rioters attack churches in Orissa 26 Dec 2007, 0148 hrs IST BHUBANESWAR: The Christmas party was dampened in Orissa on Tuesday with rioters attacking churches, prayer halls, police posts, houses and vehicles in tribal-dominated Kandhamal district. One person was killed in the violence during the VHP-sponsored four-hour Orissa bandh, police said. District authorities imposed curfew as violence went out of control. Trouble erupted on Monday when two groups of people fought over a Christmas welcome arch at a market in Brahmanigaon. The situation worsened when some trouble-makers attacked Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a local religious leader, as he was going to Brahmanigaon on hearing about the violence. Mobs torched nearly 10 churches and prayer halls and ransacked police outposts. Even the vehicle of a state cabinet minister was not spared. Saffron groups observed the bandh to protest against the attack on Saraswati. Curfew was clamped in Brahmanigaon, Baliguda, Daringibadi and other sensitive areas of the tribal-dominated district. Official sources said senior IPS officers and police personnel from neighbouring districts had been sent to the troubled areas. CM Naveen Patnaik appealed to the people of Kandhamal to maintain peace and harmony. "Orissa has a long tradition of communal amity. All of us should work together to maintain it. I request the public of Kandhamal to help the administration restore peace," he said. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Rioters_attack_churches_in_Orissa/articleshow/2650982.cms Hindus burn churches in India leaving one dead, 30 hurt: police BHUBANESWAR, India (AFP) Hindus attacked at least 10 churches in eastern India leaving one man dead and 30 injured on Christmas night, police said. Protesters backed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) set fire to six churches and ransacked another four in the heart of Orissa state, police officer Narsingh Bol told AFP. One young man was killed in the attacks and 30 more people hurt, according to local administrative official Satyabratu Sahu. Police would not specify the religion of the casualties. The authorities imposed a curfew on four towns in Kandhamal district, where the violence broke out some 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of the state capital Bhubaneswar, he added. The state's chief minister appealed for peace. "Orissa is known for its long tradition of communal amity. Let's maintain it," said Naveen Patnaik in a televised speech. Some 500 policemen were deployed to restore peace, state police chief Gopal Nanda said, and more were on the way. Gouri Prasad Rath, a state leader of the Hindu council, told AFP that Hindu temples had been attacked as well but police could not confirm the claim. Authorities say the church violence came after a Hindu leader called Swami Laxmananand Saraswati, who has campaigned against what he calls the "forced" conversion of low-caste Hindus to Christianity, was attacked on Christmas eve. Christian missionaries have long found willing converts among India's neglected tribal communities or "untouchable" Hindus -- known as Dalits -- who still face massive discrimination. In Kandhamal, the majority of Christian converts are Dalits. Orissa's four-decade old "Freedom of Religion Act" requires every change of religion to be cleared by the authorities. Hindus say the missionaries fail to do so. A Hindu man is serving a life sentence for burning alive an Australian Christian missionary and his two sons as well as a Catholic priest in Orissa in 1999. Graham Staine, who had worked for three decades with lepers, and sons aged eight and 10 died when a Hindu mob torched a jeep in which they were sleeping. Sectarian clashes break out periodically in the billion-plus country of multiple faiths, where approximately 2.3 percent are practising Christians afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iZ7EGRBQOnByihx-VTnbdmbcv-Ow -- Jharkhand News [EMAIL PROTECTED] Jharkhand Online Network http://www.jharkhand.org.uk [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Note: Replying to this email will send an e-mail to 1100+ members of Jharkhand Online Forum. Jharkhand Online Forum is totally un-moderated means here you have got 100 percent freedom to express your thoughts, views and opinions. 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