 MANGALORE: The Justice B K Somasekhar Commission of Inquiry, probing the church attacks in the state, has made startling revelations against top police officers, district administrations and panchayat heads of Mangalore and Dakshina Kannada districts. It has alleged that they colluded with members of the Bajrang Dal and the Sri Ram Sene in attacking the churches.
“An impression is given that the top police officers and the district administration and other authorities and panchayat heads…colluded with members of the Bajrang Dal and the Sri Ram Sene directly or indirectly in attacking the churches…,” Justice Somashekhar has said in the report, submitted to Home Secretary Abhijit Dasgupta, secretary to the department of parliamentary affairs S Siddeshwara and Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada M Ponnuraj on Monday.
Talking of the Hindu organisations considered responsible for the attacks, the report says, “A strong impression is created that members belonging to the Bajrang Dal, Sri Rama Sene and VHP are mainly responsible in attacking the churches and places of worship, mainly in Mangalore and South Canara District.” However, the report has also said that the Hindu community was being sidelined in education, health and social services and that conversion efforts were breaking the Hindu joint family system.
The report further says that under the guise of controlling Christian protestors, the police exceeded their powers by resorting to lathi charge and bursting of tear gas shells, which has resulted in injuries, agony and deep fear among the worshippers.
Pointing out that many Christians pleaded for action against Mahendra Kumar, the then convener of Bajrang Dal and leaders of the Sri Ram Sene and the VHP after the attacks, the report says that the district administration ought to have acted immediately. It also indicts the district administration and police of Chikmagalur and Davanagere, allegeing that despite knowing about the incidents in DK and other places, they had not prepared properly to prevent such incidents in their districts.
“Some members heading institutions like corporations and municipalities themselves were responsible for such attacks,” the report says.
On charges of conversions by Christians, the commission said that there were indications of massive conversions to Christianity by circumstances and inducements, but not by compulsion. They were only conversions of faith and not of religion in a legal or technical sense, the report said.
(Source: Express News Service, Feb 02, 2010, http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Police+colluded+with+Bajrang+Dal,+Ram+Sene&artid=C0TnWtyLHa4=&SectionID=7GUA38txp3s=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=zkvyRoWGpmWSxZV2TGM5XQ==&SEO=Justice+B+K+Somasekhar+Commission+of+Inquiry) |
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