Christian orphanage set ablaze in Orissa, 1 killed

BOILING POINT: The orphanage in Bargarh district which set on fire on Monday.

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Bhubaneswar: A woman was burnt to death and a priest injured when a mob set fire to an orphanage run by Christian missionaries in a village in Bargarh district of Orissa on Monday during a statewide shutdown called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

Suspected Sangh Parivar activists first chased away around 20 children at the orphanage in Khuntapali village and then set it ablaze at around 1600 hrs. A 25-year-old woman, who worked as a teacher-cum-caretaker at the orphanage, was killed in the fire. First reports from the village had said the woman was a nun.

A priest who was trapped in the burning building was badly burnt and is now recovering in a hospital.

In the past Hindu extremists in Orissa have attacked Christian missionaries. In 1999 an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two sons were killed by a mob that set their car on fire.

The VHP had called the statewide bandh in Orissa to protest against the murder of its leader in Kandhamal district on Saturday.

Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, a member of VHP's central advisory committee, and four other people were killed at his Jalespata ashram in Kandhamal district on Saturday evening after suspected Maoist rebels opened fire on them.

Over a dozen churches and prayer halls were torched, police outposts attacked and about 15 vehicles damaged in the communally sensitive Kandhamal district during the bandh.

The administration imposed curfew in Baliguda and Phulbani towns in Kandhamal district, but people defied the order when Saraswati’s body was brought in a procession to his ashram. Those in the procession attacked churches and prayer houses, eyewitnesses said.

More than 1,000 security personnel were deployed in the region. Officials said the curfew would continue in both towns till Tuesday.

PTI reports that churches were also attacked in Khurda, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Koraput, Boudh, Mayurbhanj and Jagatsinghpur districts.

A paralytic patient identified as Rasananda Pradhan was killed by a mob in Rupa village in Kandhamal on Sunday night. Pradhan was trapped when the mob set houses in the village on fire.

"Two people have died in two separate incidents. This is most unfortunate," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters.

"The situation is under control and we are closely monitoring it," he said, adding that he had asked the central government for more security forces.

Most government and private offices witnessed thin attendance as thousands staged demonstrations and burnt tyres in several villages, towns and on national highways. Almost all shops and petrol pumps remained closed and many were stranded at bus stops.

Train services were affected across the state, J P Mishra, spokesperson of the east coast railway, told IANS. "Passenger and goods trains were not allowed to move from stations." Road traffic was also badly hit and vehicles were attacked.

In Bhubaneswar, Sangh Parivar activists fanned out in large numbers in order to enforce the bandh and blocked important roads and intersections.

The unrest was reflected in the Orissa Assembly as well with ruling and opposition legislators clashed over the killing.

The opposition Congress demanded suspension of the question hour and an immediate discussion on the law and order problems in the state; and the BJP, an ally of the BJD government, demanded suspension of proceedings for the day in view of the shutdown.

Saraswati was leading a campaign against cow slaughter and religious conversion in Kandhamal. The district has a population of around 600,000, including 150,000 Christians, and has witnessed clashes between Hindus and Christians in the past.

Saraswati's supporters had been holding protests since Saturday night, blocking trains and vehicles.

The state government on Sunday ordered a judicial probe into the killings and announced compensation for the victims. Authorities also constituted a special police team to investigate the murders.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI)