ASIA/INDIA - The Report of the Commission of Inquiry on anti-Christian violence in Orissa is being prepared

Tuesday, 3 November 2015 violence   persecutions   religious minorities  

Bhubaneswar (Agenzia Fides) - The Commission of Inquiry on anti-Christian violence that took place in 2008 in the district of Kandhamal, in Orissa, concluded its work and hearings on October 30 and is preparing to publish a detailed report on the investigation, which will be released at the end of December and presented to the government of Orissa.
Judge A.S. Naidu, head of the Commission, remarked that "because of the lack of cooperation of many stakeholders, including the government, it took almost seven years to finish the investigation".
The Commission's main task was to study the sequence of events and circumstances that led to the killing of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008 (that sparked the violence, given that Christians were accused of murder) and the following wave of violence. The Commission received almost 700 sworn statements. On 1 July 2009, the Commission presented an interim report to the government, recommending appropriate measures to prevent new outbreaks of violence in Kandhamal.
The district in Kandhamal was the epicenter of the anti-Christian violence in 2008. More than 5,600 houses in 415 villages were looted, more than 90 were killed and 395 places of worship were destroyed, while 56 thousand Christians were displaced. (SD-PA) (Agenzia Fides 03/11/2015)


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