NATION
Attack on Nagapattinam Christians leave 15 injured, one dead
By: Babu Thomas
Monday, 9 July 2012, 18:25 (IST)
Some 15 Christians were wounded and one reported dead after extremists allegedly from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh launched a series of attacks in Sirkali taluk, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu.
According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), tensions began on June 21 when the Hindutva extremists went to the area and ordered the local population to boycott Christians, impeding them from praying and going to worship services. The extremists had apparently visited the village in May with the same demands.
To prevent any untoward incident, the local authorities on June 23 had organized a meeting to reconcile the two warring communities.
The meeting also involved KA Jayapal, Minister of Fisheries, whose efforts too failed to convince the extremists to leave the village.
Following the meeting, an armed mob reportedly attacked Christian homes with clubs, sticks and other implements, burning and plundering four buildings and forcing the Christians to flee.
About 15 people were injured in the clash and two are said to in critical conditions.
After the assault, few of the victim families reached the Poompuhar police station which sadly refused to take action. The matter was subsequently taken up with the authorities of the district of Nagapattinam.
Meanwhile, on June 24, one Christian, Mahalingam was found dead in the hospital under unclear circumstances. His son Rajendran claimed that his father was killed by the extremists. The police however have recorded it as a natural death.
"Christians in the village are facing a very difficult time. They were socially boycotted and they were not allowed to attend or conduct any worship meetings. Few Christian families have even fled the village in fear," the area leader Pastor Samuel Ramachandran told EFI.
According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), tensions began on June 21 when the Hindutva extremists went to the area and ordered the local population to boycott Christians, impeding them from praying and going to worship services. The extremists had apparently visited the village in May with the same demands.
To prevent any untoward incident, the local authorities on June 23 had organized a meeting to reconcile the two warring communities.
The meeting also involved KA Jayapal, Minister of Fisheries, whose efforts too failed to convince the extremists to leave the village.
Following the meeting, an armed mob reportedly attacked Christian homes with clubs, sticks and other implements, burning and plundering four buildings and forcing the Christians to flee.
About 15 people were injured in the clash and two are said to in critical conditions.
After the assault, few of the victim families reached the Poompuhar police station which sadly refused to take action. The matter was subsequently taken up with the authorities of the district of Nagapattinam.
Meanwhile, on June 24, one Christian, Mahalingam was found dead in the hospital under unclear circumstances. His son Rajendran claimed that his father was killed by the extremists. The police however have recorded it as a natural death.
"Christians in the village are facing a very difficult time. They were socially boycotted and they were not allowed to attend or conduct any worship meetings. Few Christian families have even fled the village in fear," the area leader Pastor Samuel Ramachandran told EFI.
Fron: christiantoday.com
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