Kandhamal pastor’s house attacked

Orissa, January 25, 2012: House of Pastor Pabita Mohan Kota (Village: Adigar, G P Minia, P S Sadar Phulbani) was attacked by throwing bricks, by Mr. Jaleshwar Pradhan of same village, today 25 Jan, at about 3.45 p m..
According to wife of the pastor, the attacker appeared to have consumed plenty of liquor and came shouting towards her house, he pushed her daughters, shouted “You Christians must not live here, it is not your patta land, last time only your houses were broken, and this time all of you will be buried here.” He began to throw brick pieces and bricks at the house. There are plenty of pieces of bricks of old house and new bricks too have been brought to rebuild house. Children and wife of the pastor ran away to a distance.  Pieces of bricks could be seen all over and asbestos of house too have been damaged.

Though damage to the house is not much, mental torture, tension and fear is much and irreparable. Pastor Kota was physically tortured many times – his health is very weak, his eye sight and hearing ability are partially lost due to physical torture he got repeatedly from the hands of Hindu fanatics. Further his house was destroyed during communal violence of 2008. (His damaged house is yet to be rebuilt. Meantime he has built a hut with the help he received from Dr Sajan George, president of GCIC). He is defending a false case filed against him by Hindu fanatics, in court at Phulbani.

It is to be noted that he is an eye sore to the fanatics because some time back he was with them and used attack Christians like Saul of the Acts of the Apostles.

When his house was being attacked, the pastor was at Phulbani. His daughter called him over phone and informed him. He called me over phone, I was at Pobingia. I gave him cell number of the S P and asked him to directly talk to the S P. He did so and at the direction of the S P local police station in charge (Mr. Rajkishore Sahoo) along with police personnel reached the place of occurence before 5.30 p m. I too reached the spot, saw and heard matters. The police officer told me that the accused is being booked under various applicable sections of the IPC.

In the backdrop of past incidents in Kandhamal, this incident can not be taken slightly. It is due to the hate campaign by the fundamentalists that this kind of incidents recurringly happens in Kandhamal. The past year witnessed murders of two pastors and burning down of tribal Christian’s house on Christmas night.

– k j markose