Bajrang Dal involved in Christian

attacks: Witnesses

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 07:11:34 PM, S. O. News Service

Mangalore: A few witnesses who were deposed before Justice B K Somasekhara Commission of Inquiry here on Monday squarely blamed the Bajrang Dal for the attacks on prayers halls reported from across Dakshina Kannada. The state government set up a commission headed by Banavar Krishnamurthy Somasekhara, former judge of Karnataka and AP high courts to inquire into these attacks and submit its report.

Anthony Rodrigues, pastor of Mahima Prarthanalaya, Belthangady while being deposed before Hemalatha Mahishi, legal advisor to the commission assisted by his legal counsel B Ibrahim said a group of unidentified persons attacked the prayer hall on September 15 shouting slogans "Jai Bajrang Dal, Jai Sri Ram, Yessuvige Dikkara." The pastor however told the commission that he could not identify them, as they had masked their identity.

C Christella, a retired teacher from Vamanjoor too blamed the Bajrang Dal for the incidents. When Ibrahim asked her to elaborate on how she came to this conclusion, she said she had learnt about the organisation's involvement through television channels. Asked about a reference to 'Hindu Mulabuthavadigala Sanghatanegallu' in her affidavit given to the commission, Christella said she was referring to the Bajrang Dal and its cadres.

Christella referring to the affidavit filed by her added that the Bajrang Dal was also behind the incidents where police targeted Christians protesting against the incident at Bajpe on September 15, a day after the concerted attacks on prayers halls. The police egged on by Bajrang Dal activists targeted Christians and were squarely responsible for police excesses committed on Christian women taking part in the protests, she said.

Ronald D' Souza, a businessman from Kalladka said Prasad, a person who was employed by his brother and a group attacked him and burnt his shop on September 15. Ronald said that he could positively identify four other attackers apart from Prasad if an identification parade was conducted. Stating that he had suffered losses of Rs 75,000, Ronald told the commission that he wanted the state government to compensate him for the same.

Melville Pinto of Kulshekar produced call details to substantiate his claims that unknown persons had made calls to his landline giving life threats to him in the aftermath of the incident. He also acknowledged the fact that police had responded to his calls for help following the threat calls and also provided security to him. Melville also submitted a compact disc containing evidence of alleged police atrocities on protesting Christians.

Dwelling on the issue further, Melville who deposed on his own, without a counsel also displayed a tear gas shell past its expiry date allegedly used by the police on protesters at Milagres Church on September 14. Stating that he was still suffering from the after effects of direct exposure to the shell, he said a private hospital where he was admitted for treatment had refused to issue him a wound certificate despite paying the fees.

Home | Top of the Page

  Comment on this article

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) Who devised a Secure World

France's Encounter with Pharaoh Ramesses

In 1905 more than 100 years from today, when Iqbal was a lecturer at the Government College, Lahore he was invited by his student Lala Hardayal to preside over a function. Instead of making a speech, Iqbal sang....Read Full

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad - Preacher of the Peace and Harmony

Saudi King calls for Interfaith Dialogue: The Saudi king has made an impassioned plea for dialogue among Muslims, Christians and Jews — the first such proposal from a nation with no diplomatic ties to Israel and a ban on non-Muslim religious services and...Read Full

Introducing Islam

Taliban’s Jizya is Extortion, Nothing to Do with Islam: Indian Muslim religious leaders have unanimously condemned in strongest terms the Pakistani Taliban’s kidnapping, extortion of huge amounts....Read Full

Our terror, their terror: Doval’s response was that the term ‘Hindu terror’ worried him. There were, he said, two dimensions to any battle against terror. The first was law and order. You should treat all terrorists as murderers regardless of their....Read Full

Fascism and Terrorism: Two Sides of the same coin: “It seems that the fascist forces with a clear anti-Muslim agenda have infiltrated the security forces. Since the Indian... Read Full

The storm sweeping south Asia: “Afghanistan has been known over the years as the graveyard of empires” stated  General  David H. Patraeus, head of the US Central Command, in an attempt to.....Read Full

The Hidden Face of the Terrorism Exposed At last: A nation under the siege, innocent lives are at stake and the basic structure of the country in itself is at risk. Are we doing enough to combat the terrorism? With the....Read Full

Terrorist vs Terrorism

Victims of Terror