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Minorities panel blames Sangh Parivar for anti-Christian attacks

The National Commission for Minorities has blamed Hindu outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rastriya Swayamsewak Sangh and Bajrang Dal for the recent attacks on minorities, especially Christians, in various parts of the country.

Talking to the media in Madras, Dr James Massey, member of the Commission, said in almost all the cases, the real culprits had not be nabbed yet and urged the Bharatiya Jatana Party-led government at the Centre to take a "definite" action against the Hindu outfits.

Dr Massey, who had personally investigated the incidents that occurred in Bihar, Punjab, Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka and Maharastra, said except for the rape of four nuns in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, he could see the involvement of the rightists in all the other incidents.

Asked whether the Commission would recommend banning of the Hindu outfits to put an end to the violence against minorities, Bishop Ezra Sargunam, chairman, Tamil Nadu Minorities Commission, who was also present, said banning the RSS would make no difference as it would show its other 29 faces.

Asked how unbiased the reports of the Commission were, Dr Massey said the panel, while making an on-the-spot study, strictly followed the established norms and procedures.

After getting a first-hand report from the chief secretary, home secretary and director general of police of the respective states, the Commission cross-examined several eyewitnesses and the local people, 75 per cent of the whom belonged to the majority community. "I am willing to testify the correctness of the report," he asserted.

"It is a mystery that all the main accused, including Dara Singh, the prime accused in the Stains murder case, could manage to get away from the police dragnet," he said.

Ruling out the involvement of foreign hand in these incidents, he said only if the culprits were punished, it would serve as a deterrent to others.

Dr Massey and Sargunam have alleged that there were over 150 recorded incidents of violence against Christians, including burning of the Bible and murderous attacks on missionaries in different parts of the country.

UNI

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