Arrests over India church attacks
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Police in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have arrested over 60 people in connection with attacks on churches and clergymen over the weekend, reports BBC.
More than a dozen churches were ransacked by alleged activists of the radical Hindu group Bajrang Dal.
The Bajrang Dal claims that Hindus are being illegally converted to Christianity in the area.
Last month, anti-Christian violence in the eastern Orissa state led to the deaths of at least 20 people.
The police in Karnataka say that churches were attacked by mobs in the districts of Udupi and Chikmagalur Sunday.
Over 60 people have been detained after outraged Christian groups protested and called for a shutdown in the coastal city of Mangalore, which is the worst affected by the violence.
Last month more than 2,000 schools run by Christian organisations in Karnataka shut down for a dayin protest against the anti-Christian violence in Orissa.
Karnataka is ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has close ties with the Bajrang Dal.
"The BJP is responsible for the attacks. It is creating social disharmony," the main opposition Congress party leader Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Meanwhile in Orissa two more people were killed and 12 injured when police opened fire on a rioting mob in Kandhamal district Saturday.
The district has seen large scale violence since 24 August in which at least 20 people have been killed and dozens of churches and thousands of houses torched.
Saturday evening's incident took place at Kurtamgarh village where a mob went on the rampage burning houses and prayer halls.
More than a dozen churches were ransacked by alleged activists of the radical Hindu group Bajrang Dal.
The Bajrang Dal claims that Hindus are being illegally converted to Christianity in the area.
Last month, anti-Christian violence in the eastern Orissa state led to the deaths of at least 20 people.
The police in Karnataka say that churches were attacked by mobs in the districts of Udupi and Chikmagalur Sunday.
Over 60 people have been detained after outraged Christian groups protested and called for a shutdown in the coastal city of Mangalore, which is the worst affected by the violence.
Last month more than 2,000 schools run by Christian organisations in Karnataka shut down for a dayin protest against the anti-Christian violence in Orissa.
Karnataka is ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has close ties with the Bajrang Dal.
"The BJP is responsible for the attacks. It is creating social disharmony," the main opposition Congress party leader Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Meanwhile in Orissa two more people were killed and 12 injured when police opened fire on a rioting mob in Kandhamal district Saturday.
The district has seen large scale violence since 24 August in which at least 20 people have been killed and dozens of churches and thousands of houses torched.
Saturday evening's incident took place at Kurtamgarh village where a mob went on the rampage burning houses and prayer halls.