Christian Priest Shot to Death in Jamabani

New York Times, September 3, 1999
Mob Kills a Catholic Priest in India
NEW DELHI -- A Roman Catholic priest, asleep in a remote eastern hamlet where he had been counseling the poor, was slain by a mob early Thursday morning, cut down by bows and arrows as he tried to escape an attack, the police said.
The killing was in Jamabani, a village in Orissa, not far from where a Christian missionary and his two sons were killed in January. Few details were known about the new incident as authorities from the district capital, Baripada, had to travel a long distance through rough terrain to go to the scene.

The priest, who used the single name Aruldoss, made weekly visits to the village from his church in Anandapur, said a fellow priest, the Rev. Jose Thundiyl. The journey required a 20-mile ride on a motor scooter followed by a 12-mile hike.

"He had been in our diocese for five years, and he was a very good missionary," Thundiyl said. "He led a simple life. All the time he wanted to be with the poor. His interest was not in conversions. It was in organizing poor people so they knew their rights, so they knew how to live their lives better."

A companion of the priest fled from the attackers. His statement to the police said 15 or 20 men set upon them at 2 a.m., the Press Trust of India reported. Aruldoss was felled by arrows as he ran away, and he was then beaten.

Neither the attackers' identities nor their motive was known. The president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, Archbishop Henry D'Souza of Calcutta, blamed a hate campaign by Hindu extremists. "The poor priest and his associate," D'Souza said, "seem to have been attacked for the only reason that they are Christians."




Times of India , Friday 3 September 1999
Christian priest lynched in Orissa village
BHUBANESWAR: In yet another gruesome incident similar to the Staines' murder case, irate tribals, armed with bows and arrows, attacked and killed a Roman Catholic priest in the inaccessible Jambani village under Mahuldiha police station in Orissa's Mayurbhanj district in the early hours of Thursday.
A church, set up in the village about 3 years back, was also set ablaze by the gang of 15 persons.

The victim has been identified as Arul Doss, priest of a church near Anandpur in Keonjhar district. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. when a dance programme was going on in the village, which was reportedly organised on the occasion of a congregation of converted Christians there.

The congregation, organised by the local church, was attended by Mr Doss who had reached the place earlier in the day. This was, however, opposed by non-Christians in the village, which possibly led to the violence, preliminary official reports reaching here said.

One person injured in the attack has since been admitted to the nearby Kaptipada hospital, the report added.

There are about 20 Christian families in the village, which is located in a thick jungle area, about 15 km from Mahuldiha police station, the report said.

Home secretary Ajit Tripathy, when contacted, maintained that the details of the incident and the circumstances leading to the violence were being collected. The village is not connected by any motorable road.

He said the incident was first reported to the police by the chowkidar (village guard) of the village. The home secretary could not say whether or not Dara Singh, who was involved in the Staines' murder on January 22 and the murder of a Muslim trader, Sheikh Rehman, on August 26 at the nearby Padiabeda village, was involved in this incident. Like the previous two incidents, the latest killing occurred on the day of a Hindu festival, Janmasthami. The Staines killing had occurred on the day of Saraswati Puja, while Rehman was hacked to death on Raksha Bandhan day.

Inspector general of police Amarandan Patnaik, deputy inspector general, district superintendent of police and other senior officials have rushed to the spot. No arrests have been made so far.

In New Delhi, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee strongly condemned the killing of the Christian priest and asked the state government to ``show its efficiency'' by arresting the culprits.

``I strongly condemn the dastardly killing of the Christian priest and especially urge the government of Orissa to show its efficiency and capability in quickly arresting the culprits in this and previous such crimes,'' the Prime Minister's statement said.

Mr Vajpayee said the perpetrators of this heinous crime, irrespective of their affiliation, must be immediately nabbed and brought to book.

``It is extremely distressing that such murderous attacks on representatives of a minority community should be taking place unchecked and with alarming regularity in Orissa,'' he said, while expressing his condolences to the family of the priest.

``Rather than making political capital out of such incidents on the eve of elections, all political parties and social organisations should join together in preventing them,'' Mr Vajpayee said.

Ironically, the incident occurred barely a few hours after the ruling Congress and several other political parties had observed a state- wide bandh to protest against the continuing attacks on minorities. The call for the bandh was given by the Janata Dal (secular) and Left parties.

The Janata Dal (United) strongly condemned the killing and blamed the state government for its ``total failure'' to protect the minorities. Party spokesman Mohan Prakash said the state government had repeatedly failed in apprehending the culprits and bringing them to book.

He said the repeated failures of the Congress government did not auger well for the people of Orissa and it was time for them to teach the government a lesson. end TOI





Statesman, September 3, 1999
Catholic priest slain in Orissa
BHUBANESWAR, Sept. 2. - A Roman Catholic priest was killed at a remote village of Orissa's Mayurbhanj district late last night.

An unidentified group of assailants attacked Fr Arul Doss at Jambani in Mahuldia area at 2 am, shot him with arrows and then set a church on fire.

The incident was a ghastly reminder of the Staineses' murder at Manoharpur on 22-23 January; strikingly similar because the group attacked the priest and local Christians engaged in festivities after organising a prayer meeting last night.

The cause of the murder is yet to be ascertained. Quoting a preliminary report, UNI said it was the manifestation of a conflict between converted tribal Christians and non-converted tribals.

Condemning the "dastardly killing", the Prime Minister urged the Orissa government to show efficiency in immediately arresting the perpetrators of this "heinous crime" and previous such incidents, irrespective of their affiliation.

"It is extremely distressing that such murderous attacks on representatives of the minority community should be taking place unchecked and with alarming regularity in Orissa," Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee said in New Delhi.

The Orissa chief minister blamed "non-secular" for the killing; the incident occurred in the "area of operation" of Dara Singh, wanted for the Staineses' murder and a Muslim trader.

"Any killing on the eve of elections can only be the handiwork of non-secular forces aimed at creating confusion in the minds of voters", he said without blaming any particular organisation.

Fr Doss, a south Indian based at Sinduria near Anandpur, was touring several villages since 31 August. He left for Jambani from Sarat village with Mr Darsan Birua and Mr Katesingh Khuntia.

They reached the village, organised a prayer meeting and were enjoying a dance programme by locals when a group armed with lathis, bow and arrows attacked them.

As panic-stricken villagers, including Fr Doss, tried to escape, the attackers shot at the priest piercing his body with arrows. The 15-18 member group escaped, but not before setting ablaze the church.

Birua and Khuntia, beaten up with lathis, rushed to Sarat police station and then to Mahuldia to lodge a complaint. Being outsiders, they couldn't identify the assailants.

Senior police officers rushed to the spot early this morning, but a swollen Salindi river and the inaccessible village not connected by roads delayed them.

Residents of Thakurmunda tried to reach Jambani, but in vain. There were snakes on the way and one had to trek 8-10 km, they complained.

The three recent gruesome incidents in Orissa, beginning with the Staineses' murder at Manoharpur; trader Sheikh Rehman's killing at Padiabeda and the latest one of Fr Doss, have occurred during festivals. The Australian missionary and his two sons were burnt alive few days after Saraswati Puja; Rehman was killed on Raksha Bandhan day, and today was Janmastami.

Parties in the state were quick to cash in on the latest incident. The Left, Janata Dal-Secular and Congress blamed "communal forces"; the BJP demanded Central rule and ally BJD said the Congress had lost moral right to rule the state.

Reactions: The NCM has blamed the Orissa government for killings of Fr Doss and Sheikh Rehman. Professor Tahir Mahmood, chairman, didn't rule out political motive behind the killings. "Why has all this resumed on the eve of elections?"

A "shocked" Delhi Archbishop, Alan de Lastic, sought urgent steps against the guilty.

The Calcutta Archbishop and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India blamed fundamentalists' continuous hate campaign against Christians.


These reports from respected media sources reveal that the Brahmin-Occupied Government has now started targetting Christians.

These terrorists also receive substantial support from the Pseudo-Secular establishment, which is merely another front for Hindutva. It must be pointed out that the killings occurred at a time when Orissa was ruled by the Congress Party. Indeed, after the truly barbaric killings of Christians in Orissa, the DIG, Police, Mr. Mohapatra (of course, a Brahmin !) publicly stated that the Christians were being killed because they were `evil people'. No severe action was taken against this person; as a result of an international outcry he was merely transferred to another post.

This incidence also gives the lie spread about by the Brahmin-controlled media that only `Foreign Missionaries' were being targetted. Was Father Arul Doss not an Indian ? It is the entire Christian community which is sought to be ethnically cleansed by the Hindutvadins. In this, the `soft' Pseudo-Secular Hindutva Congress shares most of the blame as the brain behind the massacres; the `right-wing' Hindutva parties are merely the henchmen on the ground.

-- Surinder Majhi,
Dalitstan Journal
Volume 1, Issue 3 (Dec. 1999)

http://www.dalitstan.org/journal/genocide/christians/jamabani.html