India: Inquiry Commission Report On Kandhamal Violence Expected Soon

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The Commission of Inquiry on anti-Christian violence that took place in 2008 in the district of Kandhamal in India’s eastern state of Odisha will be released by end December and presented to the state government.

The Commission concluded its work and hearings on October 30 and is preparing to publish a detailed report on the investigation.

Judge A.S. Naidu, head of the Commission, remarked that “because of the lack of cooperation of many stakeholders, including the government, it took almost seven years to finish the investigation”.

The Commission’s main task was to study the sequence of events and circumstances that led to Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati’s murder on August 23, 2008 and the following wave of violence on Christians. Christians were accused of the Swami’s murdersparking the violence.

The Commission received almost 700 sworn statements. On 1 July 2009, the Commission presented an interim report to the government, recommending appropriate measures to prevent new outbreaks of violence in Kandhamal.

The district in Kandhamal was the epicenter of the anti-Christian violence in 2008. More than 5,600 houses in 415 villages were looted, more than 90 were killed and 395 places of worship were destroyed, while 56 thousand Christians were displaced.

Source: Agenzia Fides

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