Who really killed Swami Laxmanananda?

Was it the Maoists?

Orissa’s top ranking Maoist Sabyasachi Panda has once again claimed that the red brigade killed Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples at his Jalespeta ashram on August 23.

or Christians?

…The police have arrested Pradesh Kumar Das, an employee of the World Vision, a Christian Charity, from Khadagpur while escaping from the district at Buguda. In another drive, two other persons Vikram Digal and William Digal have been arrested from the house of Lal Digal, a local militant Christian, from Nuasahi at Gunjibadi, Nuagaan. They have admitted to having joined a group of 28 other assailants.

or both?

Admitting that Maoist groups in Orissa derive major support from minority communities, a prominent Maoist leader has said there was pressure from both Christians and Dalits to eliminate VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati.

…Noting that most of the cadre members and supporters in Orissa belonged to Christian community, Panda said, ‘It is a fact that Christians are in majority in our organisation.

Our supporters in Orissa’s Rayagada, Gajapati and Kandhamal also belonged to Christian community.’

🙁

UPDATE:  “…Police arrested two Christians in Orissa on Monday in connection with the murder of a Hindu leader that sparked weeks of deadly clashes, a killing which is also blamed on Maoist rebels…”

Related Posts:

The other side of Kandhamal… 

Why are Christian Missionaries targeting India – III 

B Shantanu

Political Activist, Blogger, Advisor to start-ups, Seed investor. One time VC and ex-Diplomat. Failed mushroom farmer; ex Radio Jockey. Currently involved in Reclaiming India - One Step at a Time.

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19 Responses

  1. Conscience Matters says:

    Pray dear me, if tomorrow a ‘Hindu’ naxalite kills somebody, is it done by the Hindu community. So are you saying that in that case all Hindu houses should be burnt down.

    Moreover, Who drove the Christian tribal to take shelter from Naxals if this is true?

  2. Harsh says:

    Yet Another Proof of Sangh Parivar’s Lying Nature & Distorting Truth

    The following is taken from Vishal Arora’s write up. Vishal Arora is a Delhi-based journalist, and can be contacted at vishalarora_in@hotmail.com
    The newspaper report, which is being circulated by email and on the Web by supporters of the Sangh Parivar, is not only inflammatory, but also factually incorrect.

    Posted Wednesday, Aug 27 23:34:31, 2008
    The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) spokesperson Ram Madhav told CNN IBN yesterday that Christians were behind the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in Orissa’s Kandhamal district on August 23. Madhav pointed out that Orissa police had arrested workers of the Christian organization World Vision for the killing. He should have had his facts right before making a statement on a national channel.
    Madhav’s statement may have been based on a report in a newspaper (The Pioneer, August 25): “The police have arrested Pradesh Kumar Das, an employee of the World Vision, a Christian Charity, from Khadagpur while escaping from the district at Buguda. In another drive, two other persons Vikram Digal and William Digal have been arrested from the house of Lal Digal, a local militant Christian, from Nuasahi at Gunjibadi, Nuagaan. They have admitted to having joined a group of 28 other assailants.”
    The newspaper report, which is being circulated by email and on the Web by supporters of the Sangh Parivar, is not only inflammatory, but also factually incorrect.
    Disturbed by the report, I spoke to Deputy Inspector General (Southern Range) R.P. Koche in Bhubaneshwar, who categorically denied it. “No one has been arrested in ‘connection’ with the attack on Swami’s Ashram. We have merely made some preventive arrests for interrogation,” he said.
    Then, Jayakumar Christian, the executive director of World Vision India, narrated how his organisation’s employees landed up in a police station. “Two of our workers were fleeing sensitive areas on a motorbike to escape attacks. They started from Daringbari and were going to Bhubaneswar. However, when they reached Behrampore (Ganjam district), security personnel deployed there asked them to take shelter in a police station for their safety. The police informed us that our employees are in the police station, and asked us to take them to a safer place. And they came back safely the following day.” He spoke to me on the phone today.
    One wonders what is the source of the newspaper’s report, which claims that those arrested also confessed to the crime – when the police have denied it. God alone knows how many false reports could be taking the rounds.
    It is unfortunate that at least nine people, mainly Christians, have been killed or burnt alive and hundreds of homes belonging to Christians have been destroyed by mobs allegedly led by the VHP in the name of retribution. And the violence is carrying on. This is in spite of the fact that a Maoist group, the People’s Liberation Revolutionary Group, has claimed responsibility for the killing. A leader of the group, who identified himself as Azad, reportedly called up a newspaper office and said they killed Saraswati because he mixed “religion with politics…” That Kandhamal is a Maoist-affected district is also common knowledge. Further, the police found a threat letter in Saraswati’s ashram that was sent prior to the attack. Furthermore, the attack was launched with sophisticated weapons, which also indicates Maoist involvement.
    Does the VHP not know that the culprits are most likely to be Maoists? Perhaps they do, but it is typical of the VHP and other members of the timid Sangh Parivar to attack soft targets. They raise the issue of Islamist terrorism, but kill and beat common Muslims – as they did in the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat in 2002. And now, in Orissa, they are killing Christians and destroying their property when there are clear indications that Maoists launched the August 23 attack. All that is needed is a lie to target the minority community, and thanks to sections of the media, there is no dearth of falsehoods being propagated.

  3. B Shantanu says:

    @ Conscience: I don’t know where (and how) you got the impression that just because the killer(s) were Christians, Christians should be attacked…

    Let me be very clear:

    1. The identity/faith of the murderer does not make the crime less or more heinous.

    2. Regardless of anything above, there can be NO justification for the killing of innocents.

    ***

    @ Harsh: Pl. see UPDATE to the post.

  4. Bhishma says:

    To ‘Harsh’ and ‘Conscience Matters’,
    Few logical and self centered fallacies here that need correction –

    a) The killing of the Swami might have technically be done by a ‘Maoist’ – but was done in the name of Chritianity. The motive of the murder of Christianity and not Moaism!! It is the ‘Christian’ factor of the ‘Christian moaists’ that led to the murder and not he ‘moaist’ factor.
    b) If such people can be ‘forgiven’ as not being really ‘christian’ (but as Moaists or ‘devient’ humans), then the same scale should be used by not calling the VHP and Sangh cadres as ‘hindus’ – because such ‘hindus’ are just ‘incidentally’ hindus and not the representative of either entire ‘hindu community’ or ‘VHP/Sangh’. Note that there ARE Muslims and Chritians in several Sangh related organizations. So, going by your (self centered and self absolving) logic, you should NOT call them either ‘hindus’ or as part of ‘VHP/Sangh’! There were some people who technicaly (AND legally) did not even belong to Baj’dal or VHP, got angry for the misdeeds of Christians and retaliated.

    Self absolving is not the propritary patented right of Christians and Muslims. Any idiot with half a penny brain can do that. Just look at the ideology – ‘Hindus’ believe in universal acceptance of every human thought based on mutual respect of others chosen path of salvation – Bible and Koran believe that ALL OTHER paths (other than their own) leads to eternal damnation in hell!

  5. Harsh says:

    @ Bhishma

    Whoever said that the murderers be ‘Forgiven’? Catch the culprits; be it Christians, Maoists or Christian Maoists. But why target the innocent?

  6. Bhishma says:

    Targeting the ‘innocent’ is certainly incorrect. But you use the ‘alleged’ VHP/Sangh’s name as if they were actually involved in the crime (even though none of them were implicated by police). However, the same ‘Moaists’ that you were referring to have said that Christians were their fair denomination and they did it at the behest (pressure from?) of Christian community.
    There is atleast an evidence of the element of Christianity involved in the murder – as told by the murderers themselves. What worries me here is that you entirely see through that point but is very candid in using the name of VHP/Baj’dal just because their name was used by the media – the same media that you hold (ir)responsible for using the name of Chritianity. Atleast be kind enough and just stop the double standard and we are all set.

  7. Nimmy says:

    We can’t find answers just by poinintg fingers..The misionaries may have exploited the helplesness of triblas,but raping nuns and buring them is not the solution either..Fanatical groups exist in every organized religions..Interestingly,I find it ‘cool’ that the very same people who yell at moderate muslims fro not ‘acting’ against jihadisits have to say on this,when none of hindu leaders are talking or working against hindu terrorists..That doesn’t seem fair to me..Is it fair?

  8. v.c. krishnan says:

    Dear Sir,
    When Indira Gandhi was shot dead, riots took place all over India and the targets were a particular community. When that happened, a future prime minister of India was supposed to have said that when a tree of the size of Indira falls it will have repurcussions.
    In the same manner when a good man and eminent leader, beloved of the locals is murdered in cold blood certain things will take place, in the line of human thinking.
    It is a human to get angry and upset when a beloved leader is assasinated and killed in cold blood, and the outpouring will be as cruel as the deed.
    Let everybody accept responsibility for the actions and things will quieten down.
    Just as two thousand years ago one leader said to a king ‘Let my people go”, I am appealing to these people “Let my people alone” salvation is theirs to decide.
    By the way when you play with fire you will get burnt. Do not play with it.
    Regards,
    vck

  9. Indian says:

    Why do they have to kill Swami?. They could have gone to govt., complaining about it. If they were peace loving society, why are so many objection in thier deeds. Sorry misdeeds. Any misdeeds have consequencies either it may ignite the public, govt or any org. We condemn all kind of riots, but for that other side also has to conduct lawfully without taking advantage of innocents and naive people. O

  10. B Shantanu says:

    Pl. read Sandeep’s post:

    First they were mum. Then they said it was the work of “suspected” Maoists. Then the attacks against Churches and Christians happened. Then they said “Hindutva goons” are up to their usual mischief. A month later, a Maoist leader showed up on TV and “owned” responsibility for Swami Lakshmananda Saraswathi’s murder. Thus, the Christian hand was supposedly “cleared.” All was well till this.

  11. K. Harapriya says:

    Maoists have often been funded by the church in various parts of the world when they are fighting a non-communist government or a non-christian one. Within India, we know that Maoists in the north east are funded by the Southern Baptists. In Sri-Lanka, various Christian groups fund the Tamil tigers who are not all Hindu(although the implication in the Media is that they are). An excellent book on NGO’s and foreign funds by Radha Rajan is available through Vigil Public opinion forum. We need to also take note of the fact that many NGO’s have maoist tendencies and sympathies.

    In addition to proselytizing under the garb of providing education and health care, many christian movements also use women’s empowerment movement or providing and fighting for human rights etc. as a “burka” (to borrow a term from Rajeev Srinivasan) to cloak their work.

  12. ACH says:

    Excerpt from ‘Many Kandhmal victims alive’:

    The BJD-led government on Friday said the list of dead filed by Cuttack archbishop Raphael Cheenath contained names of RSS cadre killed by naxalites and some who are still alive. While Cheenath’s list included names of 93 persons killed in the riots that engulfed nine blocks in Kandhmal in the bloody aftermath of the murder of Swami Lakshmananand Saraswati last year, the state in its affidavit said the toll was not more than 42.

  13. Indian says:

    Didn’t Maoist attackers accepted in court that they killed Swamiji? Yes they did few days back. Um..now I see the connection.

  14. KSV SUBRAMANIAN says:

    Arms found from Rehab Centre in Kandhamal as per an Economic Times report. The report says that ” Police sources strongly believe in a possible link between the Maoists and some minority community leaders in the riot-hit Kandhamal district. Read on the full report.

  15. B Shantanu says:

    *** REQUEST TO ALL ***

    Pl. post comments on the appropriate thread.

    There are almost a thousand posts on this blog and it is very likely that the topic you wish to comment on has been discussed before.

    To search for the appropriate post, please use the “Search Box” in the right-hand side bar.
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    Moving comments is cumbersome and a little effort from your side can help make my job easier.

    Thanks.

    Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
    Shantanu

  16. Vijayalakshmi says:

    Hapless Hindus have been at the receiving end of aggressive conversion activities of Christists/evangelists, ever since Sonia Gandhi proclaimed the UPA Govt’s pro-‘minority’policy.Evangelists have been on the rampage since then,with no let up till now. Christists have been funding insurgents everywhere-the Maoists in Nepal and India, the LTTE, the insurgents in the NE and elsewhere.

    There is no reason why Maoists should kill Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who has been serving the poor tribals of the area for almost half a century. Aggressive christists have found the Swamiji an impediment to their conversion tactics. They tried to physically eliminate him on several occasions.

    This time round, they used mercenary christian maoists.So it is Christians who killed the Swamiji.The public wants to know what the police have done to nab the culprits.

  17. B Shantanu says:

    From: HC for re-probe in Laxmanananda Saraswati murder:
    The Orissa High Court on Thursday directed the police to further investigate the murder of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati on the basis of new material evidences and immediately submit a new chargesheet in the trial court.

    Disposing a writ petition by Saraswati’s disciple Brahmachari Madhava Chaitanya and another intervening petition by VHP leader Durga Prasad Kar, Justice M M Das asked the police to re-investigate the case on the evidence provided by Kar and others.

    The petitioners had alleged that the police did not take into account the resolution passed by Betticola church in G Udaygiri block of Kandhamal two-three days before the murder.

  18. B Shantanu says:

    From Seven convicted for Swami Laxmananda Saraswati murder of 2008, sentencing on October 3, by IANS BHUBANESWAR, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013:

    ..A court in Odisha Monday held seven people guilty of the murder of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and four of his aides in Kandhamal district of Odisha in 2008, a lawyer said Monday.
    ..
    The convicts were part of a mob of about 50 people who had attacked the swami and his aides, the lawyer said.

    All of the convicts are Christians and they had committed the crime because according to them the swami was forcing Christians to convert to Hinduism, the lawyer said…