Assault of Christian priest draws widespread condemnation

The assault on a Christian priest at Kundapura in coastal Karnataka has evoked widespread condemnation with various organizations staging protests in different parts of the State yesterday.

Suspected Bajrang Dal activists attacked the priest of Katkare Carmel Ashram Sylvester Perriera and three others when they went to a private hospital at Kundapura in Udupi district on Monday evening for medical treatment.

According to a police complaint, a group of suspected Bajrang Dal activists led by Ramana Shetty approached the priest and his companions in the Hospital and began abusing them in foul language before accusing them of converting the local people into Christianity.

The activists allegedly caught Sylvester Perriera by his collar and pushed him down the flight of stairs, causing him physical injuries. Next, they dragged him to the compound of the hospital and began kicking him. The priest’s companions were also attacked by the mob.

The police swung into action and arrested Ramana Shetty and four others on charges of assaulting the Christian priest. They were however released on bail later.

But, a host of organizations staged a protest in Kundapura yesterday with activists belonging to Catholic Sabha, Congress, JD (S), CPI (M), DYFI and others participated in the protest demonstration.

Similiarly, Ahinda, an acronym for Minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits, staged demonstrations in different parts of the State including Mysore.

In Bangalore, the Karnataka Catholic Bishop’s Conference has condemned the assault on the Christian priest and appealed to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to immediately take action against the guilty.

Claiming that the incident had created insecurity in the minds of the Christianity minority, the Conference Archbishop Bernard Moras said in a press statement “the attack carried out without any reason proves beyond doubt that there is no proper security for Christians in this land”.