Religious heads want centre shield - Complaints of atrocities submitted to CM

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OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Father Cheenath with Christian leaders on their way to meet the chief minister at the secretariat on Monday. Pix by Sanjib Mukherjee Bhubaneswar, Nov. 10: A delegation of Christian leaders, led by Raphael Cheenath, the archbishop of the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar diocese, today requested chief minister Naveen Patnaik to retain central paramilitary forces in Kandhamal till the end of general elections. “Christians in camps and those who have taken distress departure from Kandhamal are afraid. There are few police personnel and those manning the outposts can’t defend themselves. Hence, we request for central forces to be stationed in the state till Parliament and Assembly polls are over,” said Cheenath. “Crimes are being committed at rural pockets, where police can’t reach,” he added. An estimated 10,000-15,000 Christians are living outside the district at present, most have migrated to camps in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur. Besides, a large number has migrated to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Gujarat. The delegation alleged that those who returned home were being converted to Hinduism. The complaints of the group were many; Some alleged that the body of a Christian man in Sarthaguda village under Tikabali block was not allowed to be buried in the village as he did not agreed to convert. Others informed the chief minister that Christians were not allowed to harvest their paddy, again if they did not agree to convert. The members also pointed out that FIRs were not being accepted in Daringibadi and Sarangada police stations. Hailing the decision of the government to set up a fast-track court in Kandhamal for expeditious trial of riot-related cases, the delegation demanded a similar court at G-Udaygiri. The judge should be from any religion other than Hinduism or Christianity, they insisted. Cheenath also said that the church was happy with the relief measures “to a certain extent”. “We have nothing to do with Naxalites and their statement related to Swami Laxnananda Saraswati. For the past three decades there has been a strong rebel presence in the state,” Cheenath replied to a question related to the death of the seer. Hearing adjourned Orissa High Court today adjourned a hearing on Utkal Christian Council’s petition challenging the validity of the appointment of former Lokpal Justice S.C. Mohapatra as the head of a commission probing into the murder of the seer till Wednesday. A two-judge bench of Chief Justice B.S. Chauhan and B.N. Mohapatra adjourned the hearing after a state counsel sought time to place arguments against the petition