MANGALORE : “ The police and the Bhajrangdal were so close during the attacks on churches that I dreaded to even lodge a complaint against the attacks,” exclaimed Bantwal resident Andrew Lobo, while deposing before the Justice Somasekhara Commission on Tuesday.
He said so while the legal counsel for Bhajrangdal Jagadish Shenava subject him to cross examination during the Commission’s hearing at the Circuit House and questioned why he had not complained soon after the attack.
Lobo said “ Though I did not face any problem prior to the incident and later on from the Bhajrangdal, I have mentioned in the affidavit that the Bhajrangdal people themselves attacked me during the untoward incident that took place at a church in Bantwal on September 24, 2008.
Deposing before the Commission, Fr MS Samraj, parish priest of Kulur church said “ I have been serving the Church as its pastor since 15 years. There is no link between our church and New Life. Not only that the argument that the church people were making a door to door visit and distributing Bible is also false.”
When the counsel for the government told the Commission that the district administration had provided a compensation of Rs 24,000 to the church which suffered losses in the attack and a cash of Rs 1500 to the pastor for treatment of his injuries, Samaraj refused the same and said “ The District administration has only repaired a few furnitures in the church that were damaged during the attack.”
Even witnesses Charles Rego, Reeta Almeida and others deposed before the Commission.
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