Christian Hindu clash at Kandhamal in Orissa

Today September 4, the Christian leaders and pastors are meeting at
Chandigarh to discuss further plan of action. A delegation on behalf North
West Indian Christians to present a memorandun to the President of India through the Governor of Punjab and Haryana after the meet.

Society and Christians have decided to have hunger strike at Jantar Mantar New Delhi.

Christian organisations Wednesday filed a writ petition in the Orissa High Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the murder of a Hindu leader last week and subsequent communal violence in the state that has claimed at least 11 lives.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who arrived at the Biju Patnaik Airport coming from New Delhi, met Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare at the Raj Bhavan. The Union Home Minister then attended a high level meeting at the Raj Bhavan to review the situation prevailing in Kandhamal and other places in the State. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and top officials of the state government, including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and Director General of Police. More than 15000 Christians have been put in ninteen relief camps run by adminstration a measure curb on going violence in Kandhamal district where thirty person killed and 20  year girl burnt burnt alive at an orphanage in Bargarh district on August 25.News of violence still perssits.

2008-09-03 06:31:45 - Communal riots following the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati have been unfortunate, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said. Stating that the people of the state had a long record of being peaceful, secular and tolerant to all faiths, Patnaik told reporters the riots were "an unfortunate occurence during the eight-and-a-half years of my government." Claiming that situation in Kandhamal and Koraput was "considerably under control," he said, "Two unfortunate incidents took place recently. The Archbishop of Cuttack today approached the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into the violence against Christians in Orissa. The Archbishop's petition has also sought that the NHRC be asked to conduct a probe to find out which organisation was behind the Kandhamal violence. Senior Advocate Collin Gonsalves informed about the filing of the petition to a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan which agreed to hear the matter later in the day. The petitioner claimed that the Rapid Action Force has been deployed only in the cities and it has to be moved to the rural areas which have borne the maximum brunt of the unrest. The petition also sought a compensation of Rs four lakh each for those whose property and houses were destroyed in the violence. PTI The first incident of coomunal violence took place in December 2007 and the other one a few days ago. While three persons were killed in the communal violence after an attack on Saraswati on the eve of Christmas last year in Kandhamal, 16 people have died in the ongoing violence which has spread to other districts. The government has admitted that 558 houses and 17 churches and prayer houses have been burnt in the violence which is still continuing. Unofficial sources claim that over 30 people have been killed in the violence in Kandhamal district alone . About 80 houses were torched in sporadic violence in Orissa's riot-hit Kandhamal district even as the state government suspended day curfew and beefed up relief and rehabilitation operations. A high-level team of officials, including Home Secretary T K Mishra and Director General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda, visited the district to review the situation and assess the extent of damage, official sources said today. The visit was to work out strategies for containing arson and violence in the communally-sensitive district as well as stepping up relief and rehabilitation operations for the affected people, they said. At least 80 houses were torched in fresh arson in several villages of Tikabali and Sarangada areas since yesterday afternoon despite considerable improvement in situation that prompted authorities to suspend day curfew, the sources said. Describing force scarcity as a big handicap in containing arson, IGP (Intelligence) R P Singh said only 2,500 personnel from various forces including CRPF were available to combat violence in villages across the district. "As the arson continues to trouble rural pockets, there is only one jawan to tackle the situation in every village," a senior police officer said.