A First Information Report

[John Dayal’s Note: As the nation pays tribute to Baba Amte, a most well deserved tribute for his life long service to victims of Leprosy, it is also important to be reminded how some self styled `patriotic’ groups treat others who also serve victims of leprosy, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases deep in the forests of the Kandhamala district of Orissa, India.]


From Brother Oscar Tete
Local Superior of the Missionaries of Charity
Shanti Nivas
Srasananda, PO Telapally,
Kandhamala District, Orissa 762 011

Dated 5th February 2008

To The Officer in Charge,
Police Station Sadar, Phulbani
Kandhamala District, Orissa

Re: In the matter of case Number 66 Dated 31.12.2007. Additional First Information Report, without prejudice, in the mater of attack on Brothers of Missionaries of Charity running the Shanti Nivas home for Tuberculosis patients and Leprosy afflicted persons, and looting and destruction of property in arson and violence on Christmas day 25th December 2007, on the above mentioned Medical centre buildings, Brother’ residence, Catholic Chapel, Shrine of the Blessed Mother Mary, Dispensary, food godown, and theft of medicines, materials, goats, rabbits and other animals. Also, the destruction and disruption of the telephone and electric connections, and destruction of the government property of the WLL phone system.

Sir,

We had on 2nd January 2008 filed a complaints with PS Sadar Phulbani on the above mentioned attack on me and my fellow Brothers and medical centre inmates, as also on our home, medial centre and other buildings, large scale arson and destruction of all property, and looting of our goods, materials, food, animals, and dispersal of our patients under duress in the presence of the a magistrate and three policemen including the OIC and a head constable together with over 20 Home Guards. At the time of the attack by local members of the RSS as well as outsiders belonging to the same group which are followers of one Lakhmanananda Saraswati with his ashram at Chokapada, we had to run away for our lives as we were being chased by many of these people who were pelting stones at us and threatening us with sharp edged weapons and fire arms.

At that time, to our surprise, the police also told the local villagers who were near the Chapel on Christmas day to also run away and leave the village.

In that frame of mind and in utter fear of our lives, we with great difficultly; were able to at last file a basic report with the police on 2nd January 2008. In our fear of that time and our anxiety, the report was very basic and incomplete because the situation continued to be very tense and we were fearful even to come to the police station lest we be assaulted once again.

Now we have surveyed the damage done and the impact of the violence on Shanti Nivas, and wish to report the full details of the incident and the extent of damage as follows for inclusion in our initial report and complaint.

My name is Brother Oscar Tete, MC, son of Mr Tintus Tete, resident of Shanti Nivas, Srasananda, District Kandhamala, Orissa since June 2007 an originally resident of Missionaries of Charity General Office, 7 Mansatala Row, Kidderpur, Kolkata, West Bengal. I am the local superior of Shanti Nivas which is located 15 kilometers from Phulbani town and about ten kilometers from Sadar police station on Phulbani-Baliguda road. The Shanti Nivas caters to patients of leprosy, Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. It is the only medical centre of its kind in Kandhamala district and currently provides free of cost service to about 33 patients [at the time of attack] in the wards and about 20 outpatients every day. The Shanti Nivas complex consists of two wards for 33 patients, twenty beds for general patients like local illness, malnutrition, old age complications and mental retardation. The centre has been functioning without incident since its founding nearly twenty five years ago. All current patients belong to the Hindu religion and to both the Dalit and Tribal communities with whom we have always had excellent relations.

Our complex also consists of a medical godown, food store for the patients, offices, residence for the four MC Brothers, outhouses or the animals including goats and rabbits, chicken etc. We also have ambulances and godowns for our vehicles and stores.

Central to our medical centre was our spiritual space, including a Chapel and a Grotto with a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Chapel and the Grotto had been decorated for Christmas on 24th December 2007 as we were expecting the normal large participation of the local people without exclusion of any community, as also the pious prayerful presence of local believers and faithful. This was the normal practice very year and every year, it was a very joyful occasion enjoyed by all local people. The police, in fact, had always and every year provided us adequate police guards on the occasion.

This year also on 24th December night 2007,a group of Orissa Home guards cam to the Shanti Nivas where local faithful had already gathered by Nine PM for the annual prayer service to mark the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

At 4 pm, I was in Phulbani to make some last minute purchases in the market for Christmas and to provide some Christmas gifts to the Prisoners in Phulbani jail as is our normal annual practice to share the joy of Christmas with all people. I was returning by about 7 pm to Shanti Nivas when I learnt that Churches had been attacked in Brahminigaon by RSS followers of Swami Lakhmanananda Saraswati, who has been spreading hate against Christians. I discovered that the road to Shanti Nivas had been blocked by a group people who were armed with axes and weapons. Some of them were cutting trees down and putting them across the road to block it. I was apprehensive of my security, and was forced to leave my vehicle. The ambulance returned to Phulbani with the driver. I walked to Shanti Nivas.

By the time I reached Shanti Nivas, it was 9 p.m. Knowing that Churches were being attacked in various places in the Kandhamala district, I was apprehensive about the security and well being of the local believers who I knew were present in the chapel attached to the medical centre of Shanti Nivas. I asked a handful of our young believers to stay back with four brothers of the MCs. And I urged the women and children to return to the security and safety of their homes in the villages around. The women and children left reluctantly.

At 11.30 p.m., a group of Orissa Home guards came to Shanti Nivas. They were carrying only lathis.

That night, we cancelled all prayer services for the public, but continued to pray silently and privately for the safety of our villagers and our fellow believers in various parts of Kandhamala who were being attacked.

In the morning of Christmas day 25th December 2007 at 11 a.m., the local villagers who were Christian believers and their friends gathered once again at the Chapel for the prayer service. The prayer service was over by 2.30 noon and the Home guards were present during this entire process.

Around 3.30, a fresh group of Orissa Home guards personnel came to join the existing Home guard along with a Lady Magistrate whose name can be ascertained from the official records, and the OIC, and two policemen. Their names can also be ascertained from the official diaries of the police station.

Around 9.15 p.m., the Lady magistrate called me to her presence where she was sitting near the staircase of the chapel. She asked me to shift the 33 patients to the villages saying “I cannot protect you with only the Home Guards with lathis. I have no rifles and so you shift your patients to the village where they will be safe, and start removing your important possessions”.

I told her it would not be so easy or possible to shift the patients, some of whom were very serious and bed ridden, some were blind and it was difficult to carry them on such long distances on foot to the villages.

The Lady magistrate then told me to shift all the 33 patients to a single room. I did this with great difficulty with the assistance of the young Christians who were with me.

I started removing some personal and important possessions such as clothing and a little cash, bank passbook etc.

While I was doing this, I and my other MC Brothers discovered that the Lady Magistrate and the Police were not to be found, and had apparently deserted us and only the Home Guards remained.

At around 10 p.m. on 25th December 2007, our electric supply was cut, as also the telephone connection which was a government owned WLL connection with its tower attached to the Residence of the MC Brothers on one side of the Shanti Nivas complex.

As the lights went off and the power cut, we came out in fear as never before had the power gone off at this time of the night.

As soon as we came out, we saw a large group of people coming towards us. They were shouting Jai Shri Ram, as also Hindu-Hindu Bhai Bhai. I could hear these slogans clearly. They were also abusing Christians in the foulest language. I saw one of the persons in the front of the aggressors holding a sword like sharp weapon. We started running in fear of our lives from the murderous mob.

But even as the mob was approaching, and later through asking other eye witnesses, we could identify the following persons to be part of the murderous attacking mob. Their names are contained in the list at Annexure I:

We hid on the other wide of the boundary wall and watched in terror and fear as the mob divided into groups as if in a well planned attack. One group came to the grotto which had the statue of Virgin Mary. They smashed the statue and set fire to it using some oil like substance they had brought with them in plastic carriers. They used the same oil to put on the Christmas Crib decoration in front of the Grotto and burnt it, in the process burning a part of the tree branch overhanging the decoration.

Another part of the mob consisting of many people -- some of whom carried more oil in blue and other coloured plastic automobile oil cans -- broke open the door of the chapel. Inside, they smashed the altar and decorations, sprinkled automobile oil on the material and set it on fire. They also broke and destroyed every single statue and paintings on the walls of the chapel, altar, vestry and inner rooms, including copies of the Holy Bible, the Cross and images of Lord Jesus Christ. They then burnt there.

The mob then went to the back of the complex and totally destroyed our Residence, our office, the wards of the patients, the kitchen, the godowns, guest room, drivers room, office and garage. Even the toilets were not spared and the ceramic toilets were broken, the water pipes smashed, the Holy Cross pulled down and table fans, windows and electric fixtures destroyed.

The mob then came down the slope and attacked another area and the medical store, destroying precious and expensive medical equipment, medicines and a stretcher. The ambulance escaped damage because it had been sent to Phulbani.

Some of them then chased our many animals and killed them and carried them away, including rabbits and goats which we had kept. We are attaching tentative list of the goods looted and properties destroyed in Annexure II.

On 26th December 2007, the villagers, who were still very scared and frightened, came to see if we were safe. Seeing all the destruction, they told us they would help us and take care of any patients who came.

We and our patients were provided food by the villagers with the government not helping us at all.

From 26th December 2007 night till the night of 28th December 2007, we spent every night in the forest for fear we would be killed. We returned during the day to take care of the remaining patients.

We are still not able to resume normalcy in the Shanti Nivas nor can we treat our patients. We have reluctantly sent the patients to other centres run by us in Berhampur and other towns.

We still live in daily fear of mortal danger to our life, and injury to our person.

We have not been given any security.

We also do not know the fate of our oral complaints to senior officers.

We also do not know if any of the assailants, who have been identified by us and by the villagers who were eye witnesses, have been arrested by the police.

We are filing this additional report to make it part of the official FIR filed by us on 2nd January 2008.

We deeply regret that even that report was refused to be registered by the police officers at Police Station Sadar giving us vague reasons. We then gave a written copy to senior officers, which was acknowledged OIC PS Sadar on 2nd January 2008.

All that I have stated in this report has been witnessed by my personally.


Brother Oscar Tete MC
Local Superior
Shanti Nivas, Srasananda, Kandhamala District
Orissa

Enclosures
Preliminary list of assailants identified by us.
Assessment of damage to property and material possessions