Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Sep 25: Lawyer representing the policemen, M Narayan Reddy, claimed that the policemen had gone out of their way to help the Christians during the aftermath of the church attack incidents. There is a conspiracy behind pointing an accusing finger at the policemen now, he argued, placing his views before the Justice B K Somashekhara Commission of Inquiry that is probing the church attack incidents.

When cross examining the headmistress of Capitanio School, Jacinta Cardoza, at the sitting of the Commission at the Circuit House in the city on Thursday Septemer 24, Reddy objected to the accusing of the policemen. As he persisted with his arguments and objections, Justice Somashekhar, who presided over the proceedings, warned him not to waste time unnecessarily.

Jacinta, who had complained that activists of Bajrang Dal had forcibly distributed a book that blamed the missionaries in Orissa for the killing of a Hindu leader there, with the aim of vitiating communal harmony, was cross-examined on Thursday. Narayan Reddy argued that the allegations made by Jacinta are false. He said, she has filed affidavits prepared by third parties, and was levelling allegations against the policemen because of some hidden motives. Jacinta clarified that she had prepared the affidavit on her own.

Answering a question, Jacinta said that 60% of her school students come from Hindu community. When the lawyer questioned about the registering of a police case in a case of suicide by a student of her school, Jacinta said she does not know anything about this incident.

Jacinta was later subjected to cross-examination by Jagadish Shenava, lawyer representing Bajrang Dal.  He questioned Jacinta as to whether she had obtained the government's permission to declare a day's holiday for school for protesting the Orissa disturbances. Jacinta said, she had not obtained permission, but clarified that  there is a provision for the school authorities to declare four discretionary holidays in a year. When her attention was drawn to the fact that a few media reports had said that the previous day of the holiday, she had derided the Hindus in a speech, she claimed the reports to be untrue. When she was questioned as to why she did not remove a banner said to have been hung by the Bajrang Dal near the gate of her school for 20 days, about which she had filed a complaint, she said she does not know anything, but agreed that she had filed a police complaint.

She also termed the allegations that her school forbids the students from wearing of vermillion, flower and bangles. When Jagadish said that her allegation about distribution of pamphlets and books in Capitanio School was false and that she had filed the affidavit with the specific objective of defaming Bajrang Dal, she answered in the negative. Ibrahim, representing the Christian witnesses, objected to the action of the policemen in claiming that they had already filed a 'C' report on Jacinta's complaint, a copy of which has been submitted to the Commission. He objected the policemen's action in not informing the complainant about this fact.

Mathias Pereira, parish priest of Bajpe St Joseph Church, asserted that the affidavit filed by him regarding the policemen targetting the Christians was correct. He alleged that outdated tear gas shells had been used on the occasion and that he saw the date on the shells as '2002' and that Justice Saldanha, who examined them, had said they were expired shells. He was replying to the cross-examination by Reddy. Alfred d'Souza from Ullal, replying to cross-examination by Jagadish Shenava, said that he had seen the Bajrang Dal men with 'Nama' on their foreheads, raising pro-Bajrang Dal slogans and distributing inflammatory pamphlets in the region.