Tension in Central India as Hindus allege Christian hand in girl's death in hostel

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, March 13 - A bishop and other Church people were stranded in a remote mission in central India where a mob of Hindus holds them responsible for the death of a 13-year-old girl.
An autopsy report indicated the girl committed suicide, but some Hindu militants reject this finding and have organized their followers to protest what they allege was murder.

The girl's body was found early this month inside a Church-managed hostel in Devsar village of Siddhi district, Madhya Pradesh state, 950 kilometers southeast of New Delhi.
The girl, Geeta Devi Saket, was a hostel resident. A maid found her body hanging from the 2.13-meter high doorframe of the hostel bathroom. Hindu groups allege the girl was raped and murdered with the involvement of Church people.

Vincentian Bishop Mathew Vaniakizhakkel of Satna reached the mission a day after the incident to help Church workers resolve the controversy. The prelate told by telephone that the autopsy report confirms the girl committed suicide with no foul play involved in her death.
"We are being harassed and tormented for no reason. It is unfortunate that the missionaries are being victimized and accused for what they have not done," the bishop said.

Mayank Jain, top police official in Sidhi district, said that the autopsy "yielded conclusive evidence the girl committed suicide and there was no rape as alleged by a certain section of people."

However, Rajendra Dwivedi, a leader of the Hindu protesters, ruled out the possibility that the girl could have committed suicide. "The priests know about the incident and are responsible for the rape and murder of the girl," Dwivedi said. He added that he does not believe the autopsy report.
Jain said the police have explained the autopsy findings to the mob. But the mob leaders have assumed "the role of the police," he said, and are trying to "subvert the function of the administration." The officer added that police have picked up a mason who worked in the church compound for questioning in light of allegations he had an affair with the girl.

Bishop Vaniakizhakkel bemoaned that "an atmosphere of terror" prevails with the mob gathering often in front of the mission shouting slogans.
"We can neither move out from here, nor has anyone been allowed in since March 4, when the postmortem of the body was completed," he added.

The district administration has "advised" the missioners not to leave the church campus as the area remains tense, the bishop said. The administration has provided "heavy police security" to churches in the region.
The Devsar mission compound houses a church, a girls' hostel and the convent of Daughters of St. Thomas, an indigenous congregation.

The girl studied in the seventh grade. She came from a poor family and had lived in the hostel for the past seven years, according to Father Joseph Vandakathil, the parish priest. The reason behind her suicide is yet to be determined, he said.

The priest reported that on March 5, a 2,000-strong mob demonstrated in front of the church where the girl's body was kept. "Throughout the day the mob kept shouting slogans against Christians and later razed a 100-foot (30 meter)-long wall protecting the church and convent," he added.

The previous day, members of Bajrang Dal (party of the strong and stout), a radical Hindu group, assaulted Father Thomas Thelakkatt when he and two other priests took the body for the autopsy. Father Thelakkatt is now recovering at the hospital. He said someone came and threatened "to show his organization's strength."

The priest continued: "Minutes later, their local leader walked up to me and slapped me on both cheeks. I do not remember how many times I was beaten, all I know is that afterwards my shirt and handkerchief were drenched in blood from my nose and mouth." The other priests escaped unhurt.

On March 5, the girl's body was carried to her home in Odgady, 20 kilometers away. A mob demonstrated near the church there as her body was cremated.
The bishop said some groups enjoying the patronage of Hindu radicals have threatened to burn down the church and other Christian institutions in Devsar.

By CHT special correspondent