07/24/2019 India (International Christian Concern) – India’s Supreme Court has granted bail to Bijaya Sanaseth, one of seven Christian prisoners who were wrongfully charged and convicted of murdering a Hindu priest in 2008. Sanaseth is the second of the seven Christians to be released on bail with Gornath Chalanseth being released in May 2019.

Both Sanaseth and Chalanseth were wrongfully charged and convicted of murdering Laxamananda Saraswati, a controversial Hindu priest, in 2008 in India’s northeastern state of Odisha. Maoist guerrillas took credit for the murder, however, Hindu radicals falsely accused the local Christian community.

This false accusation triggered months of anti-Christian riots that swept across the Kandhamal District of Odisha. As a result, over 100 Christians were killed, 8,000 homes were burned or looted, 300 churches were destroyed, and 56,000 people were displaced.

As the riots raged, police arrested seven Christian men, including Sanaseth and Chalanseth, and wrongfully charged them with the murder of Saraswati. On little and often contradicting evidence, these seven Christians were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2013.

After more than ten years in prison, two of the seven Christian prisoners have been released on bail. It is hoped that India’s Supreme Court will review all seven convictions and released all seven innocent men.

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