» 12/16/2011 09:12 INDIA A catechist killed in Orissa: Hindu radicals are playing with terror Rabindra Parichaa, a well-known Christian activist in Kandhamal region, scene of violent attacks in the recent past, was found dead under mysterious circumstances. He is the third Christian leader killed this year. The police, who, conniving with the radicals, try to pass the killings off as accidents, unmasked in court.
Banjanagar (AsiaNews) - Another Christian has been killed in mysterious circumstances in Kandhamal. Rabindra Parichaa, a Catholic activist, who in the past has worked as a catechist touring, touring villages and towns in the area, and had as his basis the parish of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Mondasoro in Kandhamal, was murdered this morning, in circumstances yet to be clarified. Earlier in the year, two other Christian activists, Saul Pradhan and Michael Navak were killed in the area, in Raikia Block. But local authorities, in connivance with Hindu radicals have tried to pass off their deaths as accidental. In both cases the police version of the incidents were rejected once they arrived in court. (29/07/Hindu radical kills Christian who had testified in court in a Kandhamal pogrom-related case).
It is no coincidence that this crime occurred on the eve of Christmas. In fact the celebration of Christmas 2007 gave rise to the first attacks against Christian churches and homes in the district of Kandhamal. Unfortunately it was just a prologue: after the killing of Hindu leader Saraswati Laxmanananda August 23, 2008 - a new terrible wave of persecution was unleashed that lasted two and a half months, with serious consequences that last to this day.
Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) has condemned in the strongest terms the killing of Rabindra Parichaa, a well known figure among the Christians of Kandhamal. "Rabindra Parichaa was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Kandhamal in Banjanagar. Earlier this year two Christian activists, Saul Pradhan and Michael Nayak were killed in the Raikia Block and authorities, in complicity with the Hindu radicals, have passed the deaths off as accidents. But both police versions were dismissed in court, "he said, and added:" The murder, so close to Christmas, is a strategic move by extremists to create a climate of fear among Christians in Kandhamal. The first wave of anti-Christian violence broke out at Christmas. The killing of Rabindra Parichaa evokes memories of Black Christmas of 2007 when activists of the VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad, a Hindu radical party, ed) set fire to churches and other Christian institutions and Christian homes. These acts were followed by an attempt at genocide, the attempt to exterminate Christians and tear apart the social fabric of the district. "
(N.C.-S.D.)
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