by Nirmala Carvalho

5 years in jail for arson of a village and disorders. For the Global Council of Indian Christians, the situation of Christians is still "alarming". A Catholic priest runs a plan for the reconstruction of destroyed homes, also for Hindu victims.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) - A court in Orissa yesterday condemned 13 people to five years in prison for their involvement in anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal in 2008. According to the indictment, the detainees were involved in the riots and burnings of the houses in the village of Sartaguda, near the Tikabali police station. Meanwhile, police have not arrested anyone for the rape of Christian girl Nirupama Pradhan.

The Global Council of Indian Christian (GCIC) calls the situation "alarming" and is "very concerned about the future of the Christian minority that lives there."

In the village of Bodimunda under the jurisdiction of the Tikabali police, 97 Christian families are still suffering harassment and intimidation continues. "These radical Hindu - continues the statement - rape Christian women as a weapon to terrorize the entire community."

Fr. Prabodh Kumar Pradhan, coordinator of the reconstruction of destroyed homes for victims of Kandhamal, told AsiaNews: "The Catholic Church and NGOs have already built about 2,500 homes. Our relief program also includes the Hindu victims of the violence of those days. " Three years after the violence in Kandhamal, on 15 February, the Orissa government has allocated some 273 thousand euro for the reconstruction of destroyed homes, through the mediation of the local church.

• India
• violence
• Orissa
• persecution
• Christian
• hindu
• fundamentalism