post news network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 22: There are documentaries online that shows the atrocities the scheduled caste Christians had to face in the tribal district of Kandhamal during and aftermath the infamous ‘Kandhamal Violence.’ Now, senior journalist Anto Akkara has come up with his own investigative account of the bloodshed that ruined thousands of lives in his book ‘Who Killed Swami Laxmanananda?’, which was released Thursday at the city press club.
The book talks about the right wing parties using the ‘Christian conspiracy’ theory for the murder of Swami Laxmananda into their advantage and committing heinous crimes against the innocent people of this minority religion. Swami was murdered in his ‘ashram’ in Kandhamal district August 23. 2008.
The security guard of the ‘ashram’ was absent on the day and the police guards were also nowhere to be found when the assailants had entered the ashram. Later the Maoists claimed their involvement in Swami’s killing.
“Many innocent Christian were killed and 300 churches and 6000 houses were destroyed in the unabated violence by the Hindu mobs,” Akkara said. He added that the mob was mostly illiterate and were incited to take revenge after Swami’s dead body was paraded across Kandhamal.
Four Christians, including a 13-year old boy, who were accused of his murder were picked up, thrashed and dumped in a police station by the right wing leaders. Upon not finding substantial evidence to charge them, the police released them after 40 days with an affidavit that said, “We had taken shelter in police station due to fear.”
Akkara said: “The police arrested the second batch of accused killers from the remote Kotagarh forest in Kandhamal. Every accused Christian arrested was not given a proper platform to prove their innocence. Judge R K Tosh of the trial court convicted the seven accused Christians to life imprisonment on the basis of the fabricated ‘Christian conspiracy’ theory without any credible evidence.”
He added that Orissa high court has been repeatedly postponing the now convicts appeal since November 2013. He urged the audience present on the occasion to sign an online petition at www.release7innocents.com to register their support. Each online signature will generate emails addressed to the Chief Justice of India.
