The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : CBI probe sought into church attacks

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Sunday, Jan 30, 2011
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

CBI probe sought into church attacks

Bangalore: Union Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Saturday accused the BJP Government of having “hijacked” the judicial commission that gave a clean chit to the party and sangh parivar outfits for attacks on churches in Karnataka in 2008 and said a CBI probe should be ordered into the case.

“The ruling BJP has hijacked the commission and had failed to protect minority Christians in the State,” Mr. Moily said over the findings of the B.K. Somasekhara Commission of Inquiry.

In its final report, the commission had failed to name the organisations involved in the attacks and hence CBI should be entrusted with the probe, he said.

The attacks on churches in seven districts across the State had caused a major embarrassment to the BJP Government barely four months after it assumed office .

Speaking to presspersons, Mr. Moily demanded that Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa should immediately order a CBI probe as “truth cannot be suppressed and a thief is a thief.”

“Just because a commission gave a report, truth cannot be buried, it should come out and the State government should make sincere efforts (towards it),” the former Karnataka Chief Minister said.

Mr. Moily said the commission's final report should be read with the interim report and there were contradictions between the two.

“Always any commission's final report should be taken into account along with the interim report. In this case, it was very clear in the interim report submitted in February 2010 where there was mention about involvement of Bajrang Dal and failure on the part of police and district administration in discharging their duties,” the Minister claimed.

In its report that came as a relief to the BJP, the commission cited circulation of derogatory literature with “insulting attitude” towards Hindus and issues of conversion as the main reasons for the attacks.

It said there was no basis to the apprehension of the Christian petitioners that politicians from the BJP, mainstream sangh parivar and the State Government were directly or indirectly involved in the attacks. — PTI

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