New Delhi: A fast track court in Phulbani, Orissa, on Tuesday sentenced eight accused in the 2008 Kandhamal communal riots to five years imprisonment. Nineteen others were, however, acquitted by the court.
The riots occurred in Kandhamal, a tribal-dominated district, in the aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati at the Jalespata Ashram on August 23, 2008.
Hindu groups in the state blamed Christians for killing Lakshmanananda. They cited Lakshmanananda's claims that Christians were trying to eliminate him for his opposition to conversion, and had attacked him "eight times before".
On August 25–28, Hindu mobs, allegedly incited by leaders like Manoj Pradhan, an elected state legislator from the BJP, set fire to many Christian settlements, in which at least 38 people were killed.
In addition, more than 25,000 Christians were forced to flee their villages "after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs".
With additional information from PTI
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