Justice Not Served For Christian Victims of Hindu Violence in Orissa

Criminal cases on Kandhamal must be reopened, demands Archbishop Cheenath

ICC Note

Indian officials must bring all the perpetrators of attacks against Christians in Orissa to justice.

By Santosh Digal
09/01/2010 India (Christian Today India)-The Orissa State Government must reopen all criminal cases related to Kandhamal district violence and order proper investigation with modern investigative techniques and expert personnel, the Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar demanded.

“State must provide adequate protection to Kandhamal violence 2008 victims and witnesses before, during and after the trials in the Fast Track Courts,” said Archbishop Raphael Cheenath while addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar on August 30.

He said, “The Orissa government must follow the example of other state governments and ensure foolproof investigation of all criminal cases so that the guilty are punished for their heinous crime and are not let of for want of adequate evidence because of shoddy investigations and forensic expertise.”

From August to October, 2008, the Christian community in Kandhamal and other districts of Orissa was ravaged by anti-Christian violence which ripped the trust and faith of the minorities on the Government of Orissa.

However, the said community patiently hoped that the State Government would undo the wrongs by justice and rehabilitation of the victims through adequate compensation, relief and employment. But even after two years, the Orissa Government has failed to “wipe the tears” and “heal the wounds” of the Christian community in Kandhamal.

…

While the Orissa Government is proactive about compensating industrially displaced people, the same Government exhibits abject behaviour while dealing with the minorities. Probably this also points to the Orissa Government’s priorities and intentions with regard to minority welfare. The compensation of Rs.50,000 for “fully damaged” and Rs. 20,000 for so-called “partially damaged” houses is grossly inadequate considering the market rates of construction.

…

[Go to the Full Story]

Tags: orissa

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Asia, Countries, India, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.