|
|
|
|
|
Attack on Christian Missionaries and Adivasi children On the 19/12/2007 at 5.00 pm in the evening, Fr. Monty Rodrigues sdb, Bro. Ramesh sdb, Fr. Damien Sladen sdb and Sr. Manjula Tuscano OP (Dominican Missionary Sister of the Rosary) and the students studying in VIII and IX standards total 15 boys, and 9 girls got ready to go to Baidiya village of Kawant in Gujerat alongwith three village masters and some staff members of Don Bosco Institution. Around 6:00 pm in the evening, with the help of some youth of the village the students and the children put up the backdrop curtain in the open space near the Panchayat Office and began the play at around 7:00pm.
As the children were staging the play at around 7:45pm one tribal rushed in and removed the curtain forcefully and hit one of the student of IX std on the head . When Fr. Monty questioned him, another tribal from the village abused them with bad words and threatened them. They said that the Fathers and Sisters of Don Bosco were supporters of the Congress Party and from then onwards they must not step into this village. They started insulting them and their religion and abusing them because they were Christians. They asked them to stop the play. Since they sensed tension and trouble they stopped the play at once and packed up their things.
After the occurrence of the above incidents, they had supper as arranged by the village people and they left for Kawant on another route but the accomplices got information and were waiting to attach them.
A mob of 25 people blocked the road and with their jeep and then they deliberately and intentionally hit the front of the hired Pick up jeep where around 10 boys and Bro. Ramesh together with all the equipment was there, they beat them with sticks, pipes, rods. The driver somehow managed to take their jeep on the side and get away from this spot. Then they came to the next jeep where Fr. Damien and some boys were sitting. They pulled out the children from the jeep and began beating Fr. Damien. And shouting, "kill him, kill him". He became unconscious and fell down on the seat and thinking that Fr. Damien has died they were shouting to burn the jeep. And there was a laptop in his jeep which was grabbed and stolen by the accused. After that, the remaining people of the accused mob, came together and surrounded the third jeep and attacked the bonnet and the windscreen of the jeep with sticks and stones. After this, two men caught Sr. Manjula who was sitting in the front seat by her neck and hands and started pulling her. Then they grabbed the scarf and the shawl which was wrapped around her and began to pull her sari. They tore her blouse and banged her against the jeep twice and threw her down. Sr. Manjula somehow escaped from their hands and ran into the field. They also pulled out four girls from the jeep. The girls followed Sister Manjula. Fr. Monty then tried to save himself and the remaining eight girls. He reversed the jeep and drove to the next village.
After this, Fr. Monty went to the Police Station at 11:30 pm in the night and with the help of the police, he went to the site They saw our Pick Up jeep fallen down and abandoned. After reaching the place where the incident occurred they found Fr. Damien injured and four girls and Sr. Manjula scared and disturbed, they were all crying.
After this incident, Fr. Monty and Sr. Manjula went to Kawant Police Station early morning at 1:40pm on 20/12/2007 to give complaint. But the police were indifferent and their complaint was not registered till 6:20am in the morning by giving different excuses. After 6:20 am in the morning the police wrote the complaint and asked them to sign. But when Fr. Monty read the complaint which was written by the police He realized it was not according to the real facts what they had told them. They wrote according to their own whims and fancies. Therefore they refused to sign.
Then later, Vadodara District Collector – Rajiv Topno asked them to file an FIR again and they did so with the help of Rajpipla Social Service Society (RSSS), an NGO working among the Adivasis of South Gujarat.
Fr. Damien, Brother Ramesh and two boys were admitted in SSG Hospital with serious injuries. Brother Ramesh’s right hand index finger and two more fingers are amputated.
The following day the assailants were still absconding but the police had registered an FIR on the missionaries under Section 37 of the Bombay Police Act for “unlawful assembly of more than five person”, thereby violating prohibitory orders clamped in the wake of elections.
A week has gone by and still no arrests have been made of the assailants. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Top |
