(The Times of India, 15 September 2008)
Conversion fire engulfs Karnataka, seven churches vandalized
15 Sep 2008, 0440 hrs IST,TNN
MANGALORE/UDUPI/CHIKMAGALUR: After Kandhmal, it is the turn of Christians in Karnataka to face the ire of right-wing Hindu mobs.
Suspected Bajrang Dal activists vandalized seven churches and a house in Mangalore, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts on Sunday, protesting alleged conversions of Hindus to Christianity.
Some preachers and parishioners were assaulted and church property damaged in the attacks. The police in the three districts are yet to arrest anyone.
In Dakshina Kannada district, the activists targeted the Adoration Monastery just off the Milagres Church on Falnir Road. The 10-member group barged into the prayer hall and damaged the tabernacle, where the holy Eucharist is kept. They damaged windowpanes, furniture as well the crucifix. Police said the same group attempted to vandalise another prayer hall in Kankanady, but were driven back.
Later, Christians gathered in large numbers in front of the Milagres Hall to protest against the series of attacks. The day-long stand off between the protesters and the police resulted in violence. Protesters hurled stones at the police who lathicharged them in return. Several vehicles were damaged, including the jeep of the city DSP D Dharmaiah.
Police burst teargas shells to disperse the angry youth. Some of the protesters took shelter in the Milagres Church Hall premises to escape the mob fury. Prohibitory orders have been imposed in the area up to 8 am on Wednesday.
SP N Sathish Kumar said the police stood guard at some churches that they suspected would be targets of attacks. However, the miscreants had changed their plans in the last moment and attacked churches that did not have police security.
In Udupi district, three places of worship belonging to the New Life group in the district were attacked while the Sunday prayers were in progress. No arrests have been made so far.
A prayer hall near the KSRTC bus station was attacked around 10.20 am during a prayer. Over 15 activists entered the hall and attacked the people and ransacked the entire place. A music system and projector were damaged. According to sources, the miscreants came in vehicles.
In Shiroor, near Baindur, the prayer hall of the same group was attacked. A vehicle was burnt and some members of the congregation, including the pastor, were attacked. A similar incident was reported from Mudur near Kollur where some materials were damaged. However, the police prevented another such attack in prayer halls of the New Life group in Kaup and Karkala. Udupi SP Pravin Pawar said he suspected Bajrang Dal activists were behind the attack.
He told TOI that the police registered cases and investigations had started. In Chikmagalur district, the activists attacked three churches and the house of a neo convert. In one incident, 15 activists came in a vehicle and barged into Harvest India church at Makkikoppa near Jayapura in Koppa taluk in the morning and assaulted a parishioner and the protestant pastor. They broke the window panes and the plastic chairs.
Concerned over the prospects of an anti-Christian campaign spreading to Karnataka soon after attacks on minorities in Orissa, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh drew the attention of chief minister B S Yedyurappa to reports of such incidents earlier in the day.
He also talked to governor Rameshwar Thakur. The stage for the PM's telephonic talks had been set by a Congress demand for central interventions to end attacks on churches and Christian institutions allegedly by Sangh Parivar activists. In a statement, party leader Veerappa Moily said that several outfits of the Sangh Parivar had attacked churches and Christian buildings in a number of districts in southern Karnataka.
He said that such incidents had been going on for the past few weeks. Claiming that the culprits were allowed to go free, Moily claimed that the BJP government in the state had looked the other way instead of arresting the hoodlums. "Congress demands that the state government initiate immediate action; otherwise we may have no option but to approach the government of India for appropriate intervention," he said in a statement.
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#2.
The Hindu, 15 September 2008
Many injured in scuffles after attack on prayer halls Karnataka Bureau
Target of fury: A prayer hall that was vandalised in Kodical in Mangalore on Sunday.
Bangalore: Sunday saw widespread attacks on Christian prayer houses in three districts — Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur — in Karnataka. In Mangalore and at Madantyar in Belthangady, people took to the streets in protest, leading to clashes with the police.
In Udupi district, six persons were injured when miscreants attacked two prayer halls of New Life in Udupi city and in Shiroor village. Miscreants barged into a prayer hall and ransacked the place. In the ensuing scuffle, three women, a man and a two-and-a-half-year-old child sustained minor injuries.
A group of 25 miscreants assaulted the pastor of the prayer hall K.A. Abraham at Neerugadde in Shiror. The group also ransacked the equipment in the hall, smashed window panes and torched a motorcycle and a car. A case has been registered at the Byndoor police station.
In Chikmagalur, prayer halls in Jayapura of Koppa taluk and Magodu village in Balehonnur taluk were attacked by activists of the Bajarang Dal. The police said at least eight persons, including two pastors, were injured.
A group of people attacked a house in Singatagere of Kadur taluk in the district, where a neo convert, Dhanraj, was holding the prayer meeting. Dhanraj was injured and his house damaged.
In another incident, a group of people tried to attack a prayer hall in Dantaramukhi village on the outskirts of Chikmagalur town.
Police chase away a crowd on Falnir Road in Hampankatta where a prayer hall was vandalised.
Speaking on the phone, Superintendent of Police, Chikmagalur, Hemanth Nimbalkar said that while a group of people attacked prayer halls in Jayapura and Magodu, a small group tried to disrupt prayer meetings at other two places. “The police have identified the culprits and they will be arrested soon. It has been decided to provide security to some prominent churches in the district,” he said.
Bajrang Dal State chief Mahendra Kumar clarified that people attacked prayer halls as they were incensed by the “picturisation of Hindu gods in bad taste,” and the Bajrang Dal supported them.
PM speaks to GovernorSpecial Correspondent reports from New Delhi:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday spoke to Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur and Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. In his telephonic conversation, the Prime Minister advised them to take steps to maintain law and order and ensure communal harmony.
