The Hindu Monday, Sep 15, 2008
Karnataka Bureau
Bangalore: Twelve Christian prayer halls were attacked allegedly by pro-Hindu groups in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts of Karnataka on Sunday. In Dakshina Kannada district alone, at least eight prayer halls were targeted and one person was stabbed.
Three halls were attacked in Mangalore (at Hampanakatta, Kulur and Kodical), and Nettana in Puttur taluk, Madantyar in Belthangady taluk, Moodbidri, Puttur and Permannur near Thokkottu.
In Kankanady, police prevented an attack and arrested three persons.
Thousands of Christians took to the streets to protest against the attacks.
Eighteen persons, including 10 policemen and three women, were injured in three incidents of stone throwing — two in Mangalore and one at Madantyar in Belthangady. The demonstrators pelted stones at the policemen when they tried to disperse them.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Cr. PC have been imposed for three days in Mangalore taluk.
The stone-throwing incident at Milagres in Mangalore occurred minutes before Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes visited it..
All the attacks reportedly took place when people were offering prayers around 10.30 a.m. The miscreants claimed the attacks were in protest against religious conversion.
Dakshina Kannada district president of Bajrang Dal Sudarshan Moodbidri said the attacks were carried out by the Hindu community.
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Two pastors and six others were injured in simultaneous attacks carried out on 14 churches and prayer halls by suspected Bajrang Dal activists in coastal districts of Mangalore, Udupi and the neighboring district of Chikmagalur, on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses told the police that some motorcycle-borne miscreants barged into prayer halls and ransacked them.
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| 7 prayer halls in DK, Udupi & Chikmagalur face wrath | ||||||
| Churches attacked, M'lore tense | ||||||
| September 15 Deccan Herald News Service, Mangalore: | ||||||
| Thousands of Christians staged road blockades in several parts of the city on Sunday, after suspected Bajrang Dal activists carried out a series of attacks on prayer halls in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikmagalur districts, alleging conversion... | ||||||
Police resorted to caning to disperse the protesters, including nuns and women, in the evening near Milagres Hall complex, while a few people threw stones at the police. In the melee, some were hurt and a few vehicles damaged. The district administration has clamped ban orders in these areas for three days, starting Sunday. 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 Full story
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. | ||||||
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Karnataka CM orders probe into attack on churches
Abhirr VP & Deepa Balakrishnan / CNN-IBN
Published on Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 02:42 in Nation section
Bangalore: Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has ordered an enquiry into Sunday's attacks on seven churches.
The Karnataka CM is scheduled to visit Mangalore and Udupi, where churches were vandalised.
This is the third Sunday in a row when the Christian community has been targeted in the BJP ruled state.
Attacks on churches continue in three communally sensitive districts by suspected Bajrang Dal activists.
The state has a BJP led government ruling the assembly and chief minister Yeddyurappa does not wish to send out a panic amongst the minorities.
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Sculptures and prayer halls in churches were vandalised. Terror struck the Chrisitian communities of Mangalore, Udupi and Chikmangalur in the state shortly before morning mass on Sunday.
"We had just cleaned up the place and started out when some people came and attacked the church," said Paul, a church employee.
"There were about 15 to 20 people on bikes and they left soon after," he added.
The attacks led to a bandh in Mangalore which has a sizable Christian population.
Most shopkeepers and private bus operators in Mangalore stopped work.
The state police are worried about the recurring pattern of attacks on churches allegedly by saffron groups.
The Hindutva groups say these churches indulge in forced conversions. The Christian groups are quick to point out that the attacks started after the BJP came to power three months back.
"We're not people who indulge in violence. We came to pray and we are peace loving people. The community will hold a meeting to see how to counter this," said father Willliam, the spokesperson at the Bishop's office.
The Karnataka home minister Dr V S Acharya however gives a clean chit to the Bajrang Dal.
"We condemn these attacks and we'll take action against the culprits. But Bajrang Dal has no role in this. At the same time, in the name of conversions, some people are offering incentives to helpless people and converting them," said Acharya.
Immediately after the attacks, prohibitory orders were clamped in Mangalore. Christian groups demonstrated demanding that the accused be brought to book.
(With inputs from Abbas Kinya)
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Missionary school-cum-church attacked in Kerala
IANS
Published on Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 14:18, Updated on Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 14:24 in Nation section
SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT: The incident follows attacks on churches by suspected Bajrang Dal activists in Karnataka.
Kasargod (Kerala): A missionary school, which was also used as a temporary church, was attacked in the Kasargod district in Kerala, the police said on Monday.
The incident follows attacks on churches by suspected Bajrang Dal activists in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts in Karnataka, which neighbour Kasargod, the northernmost district of Kerala.
"The attack must have taken place Sunday night or early Monday morning," the vicar of St Joseph's Catholic Church Punnoor Antony said.
The church authorities found the window panes of the school smashed apart from some other damage.
As the church was under renovation, regular mass was being offered at Jayamatha School nearby.
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