Udupi: ABVP Closed School by Force, Nun Tells Inquiry Commission

Pics by Hemanath Padubidri
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi

Udupi,Aug 12 (The Hindu): Sister Rose Mita, teacher at the St. Cecily’s Higher Primary School here, said on Tuesday that a few activists, allegedly belonging to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), forcibly closed down the school on November 12, 2008 because of some incident that had occurred in Kashmir.

She was deposing before the Justice B.K. Somasekhara Commission of Inquiry, which is probing into the attacks on places of worship in Udupi and other districts in the region.

Sister Mita said that she was not involved in any conversion activities nor given inducement to anyone to convert. She had not objected to students in the school following Hindu religious practices. Her relationship with Hindus was cordial, she said.

T.V. Gopinathan, pastor of New Life Fellowship Prayer Hall in Udupi, told the commission that he was originally a Hindu. He had converted himself to Christianity over 30 years ago. The prayer hall was not using microphones on any day except Sundays between 8.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. Most of the shops in the Krishna Kripa Complex, where the prayer hall was located, were closed on Sundays, he said.

He had obtained permission from the Udupi municipality for starting the prayer hall at Krishna Kripa complex. But, he came to know that some shopkeepers had complained against the prayer hall. No attempt was being made to convert Hindus to Christianity at the prayer hall. Both Hindus and Christians visited the prayer hall, Mr. Gopinathan said.

K.A. Abraham, pastor of Divine Deliverance Prayer Centre at Shiroor, said that he was injured in an attack by a group of around 25 people on the prayer hall on September 14, 2008. He had to undergo treatment as an inpatient for five days and outpatient for 15 days in a hospital. The damage to the prayer hall was estimated at Rs. 4.03 lakh. He had been paid a compensation of Rs. 22,500.

The property damaged during the attack was not assessed by any assessor, he said and added that he could, however, produce some evidences related to the damage done to the property in the prayer hall. The Divine Deliverance prayer hall, under the Life and Light Ministries, was independent of Roman Catholicism and Syrian Christianity as it did not have the kind of hierarchy they had, Mr. Abraham said.

The others who deposed before the commission included retired Indian Army officer Victor D’Souza, writer and retired LIC employee G. Rajashekhar, member of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Suprabha Acharya, retired LIC employee P. Vasanth Bhat, businessman G. Vasudeva Bhat, and member of the managing committee of Brahmavar unit of Bajrang Dal M. Chittaranjan Hegde.