'More than three months after a 55-year-old Christian tribal was lynched in Jharkhand’s Jurmu village by a mob of Hindu villagers for carving an ox, the local Gumla district police’s chargesheet in the case has revealed new evidence pointing to police apathy. Testimonies of three Christian tribals injured in the attack reveal that the police ignored the victims of the mob attack for more than an hour-and-a-half as they lay on a street outside the police station, where the accused had allegedly dumped them after a four-hour assault.
'Adding one more incident to the long list of lynchings in Jharkhand, a 50-year old adivasi from Jurmu village of Gumla’s Dumri block was beaten to death on suspicion of cow slaughter by a mob allegedly belonging to the Sahu community of neighbouring Jairagi village on April 10, says a fact-finding team’s report. The deceased – Prakash Lakda – had gone there for skinning a dead ox along with three others – Peter Kerketta, Belarius Minj and Janerius Minj – who sustained injuries in the murderous assault, it said.
'Karnataka’s roster of incidents of intolerance is only growing. The latest headline on the subject has been the abuse of Kannada filmmaker and writer Chethana Tirthahalli. Tirthahalli filed a complaint against a man who threatened her with dire consequences after she endorsed beef consumption and questioned certain Hindu practices on social media, newspapers reported.
"Joseph Dias is an angry man. He has been one for a while now, possibly because upon his able shoulders lies the burden of making sure the Christian faith in India is safe from any form of attack. These attacks can come from anywhere, apparently. In August, 2012, for instance, they came in the form of a Hindi film called Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum which, according to the honourable Mr Dias and the organisation he represents – the Catholic Secular Forum – outraged the sentiments of the Christian community.
"The Mangalore church attacks of September 2008, for which the Bajrang Dal claimed responsibility, triggered a massive change within the usually apolitical Catholic community in the three districts of coastal Karnataka. That change was most visible in the assembly elections of May 2013. In a surprisingly bold political statement, the Catholic clergy used the pulpit to tell the devout: "Vote for a secular political party". Things didn't have to be spelled out.
"It is seven years since the worst carnage against the Christian community took place in Kandhamal in Odisha. I, along with some others, was there to attend the annual observance, this time in Raikia, of the anniversary organized by the Kandhamal Committee for Peace and Justice in the memory of those killed, injured in 2008 and for those whose lives have been forever marked by the trauma and terror of the communal conflagration that lasted for several months.
'Hazaribagh police on Tuesday detained 16 activists of the RSS-affiliated ABVP for minor vandalism outside two town-based Christian schools, forcing one of them to be closed for the day. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad was unhappy that Holy Cross and St. Xavier’s, CBSE-affiliated, were open despite an education bandh call by the organisation. The ABVP has been protesting the high fees at educational institutions across the state, something the BJP-led government of Raghubar Das has been trying to regulate.
'A leader of Hindu Mahasabha stoked a controversy on Saturday saying Muslims and Christians must undergo sterilisation to restrict their growing population, which was posing a threat to Hindus. "The population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, Centre will have to impose emergency, and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they can't increase their numbers," vice president of All India Hindu Mahasabha, Sadhvi Deva Thakur told reporters here.
'The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) organised a shoba yatra in Delhi on the occasion of Ram Navami and sent a clear signal that it would play a proactive role in the capital, where the BJP was routed by the AAP in the recent elections. Taking a dig at the AAP, Praveen Togadia, international working president of VHP, said, “We won’t let any anti-Hindu or pro-Muslim party rule Delhi. In the coming days, Hindu warriors will overthrow such governments and bring Ramrajya.” The VHP is also planning a ghar wapsi reconversion campaign in Delhi.
"Four people were arrested in the Panvel church attack case. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis is likely to make a statement in the assembly. He had asked police to find and arrest the men who attacked a church in Navi Mumbai in 48 hours on Monday. A catholic church located in New Panvel node of Navi Mumbai was attacked by unknown persons in the wee hours of Saturday. According to police, the attack was carried out by two persons who were riding pillion on a motorcycle at around 1:30 am when they hurled stones at the Saint George Catholic church located near a bridge in the area.
