A Christian body in India has called for an investigation after 54 defendants on October 29 became the latest in a long line to be acquitted in connection with the 2007–2008 anti-Christian violence in Orissa state.
Sajan George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), accused prosecutors of having a: ‘hidden agenda… to weaken the cases against arsonists and looters in [the] Kandhamal riot’.
The 54 were accused of setting fire to a church and 14 houses during the attacks by Hindu extremists against Christian communities on Christmas Day 2007. They were cleared by a court on the grounds of ‘lack of evidence’.
