Politician Jailed for Murder of a Christian in Orissa

Sentenced for only Seven Years

Washington, D.C. (July 1, 2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on June 29 a court in Orissa sentenced a member of the state assembly to seven years in prison for his role in the murder of a Christian man during the Orissa violence of 2008.

Manoj Pradhan, a member of the Hindu nationalist party BJP, was convicted of playing a role in the murder of Parikhita Digal, a Christian from Budedi village, on August 27, 2008.

A co-defendant in the case, Mallick, was also convicted and received the same sentence. Both Pradhan and Mallick were ordered to pay a fine of 6,000 Indian Rupees ($129) each.

Pradhan, earlier acquitted in seven cases relating to the Kandhamal riots, is still being tried in seven other cases including three murder cases.

Pradhan was one of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati’s closest disciples, whose killing in 2008 sparked off large scale violence in Kandhamal and other parts of Orissa. Saraswati was killed by Maoist insurgents, but Hindu groups blamed Christians and carried out large scale attacks against them. More than 100 Christians were killed and 50,000 displaced following the violence.

ICC’s Regional Manager for South Asia , Jonathan Racho, said, “We commend Indian authorities for convicting Pradhan and Mallick for their role in the murder of Digal. There are still many suspected perpetrators of the violence running free and we urge the Indian authorities to step up their effort to bring all of them to justice. We also call upon India to provide the victims of the violence with housing, medical assistance and basic needs as they reestablish their lives.”