Manoj Pradhan

Last updated

After Laxmananda's murder, Hindu mobs were convinced that Christians, who may have been behind several earlier attacks on him, [6] were behind the murder. Eventually, however, a Maoist couple, Surendra Vekwara and Ruby, who were alleged to have killed the Swami, surrendered to the Orissa police. [7] The trigger had apparently been pulled by Maoist leader Udaya.[ citation needed ]

However, BJP leaders like Manoj Pradhan and Ashok Sahu [8] incited Hindu mobs to attack the Christian Pano tribal villages. The mob set fire to many Christian settlements, killing at least 38 people. [9] More than a thousand people are still living in Government refugee camps.

Indictment and arrest

During the investigations of the riot, Manoj Pradhan, though not named in the initial First Information Report, was charged in 12 cases under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 302 (murder), 341 (wrongfully restraining someone), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy houses etc.) of the Indian Penal Code/ [1] Pradhan went into hiding, and was listed as one of the "most wanted" in police files. After his arrest in October 2008, the investigating officer Arun Ray, stated that much of the killing during the riots had been "planned much before". [10]

During the investigation of the riots, Manoj Pradhan emerged as one of the firebrand leaders of the mob; police dossiers describe him as "the field commander" [11] who led the rampaging mobs. On 15 October 2008, he was injured in a shootout [12] during a period when the armed constable Bakshis Singh of the elite Central Reserve Police Force was killed while trying to protect the minorities. Pradhan had to undergo hospital treatment, and was staying at a lodge in Berhampur that night when he was arrested. The riots died down the same month.

2009 elections

For the Indian general election in Orissa, 2009, the Bharatiya Janata Party inducted Pradhan, who had little political experience, as its candidate for the state legislature from the G Udaygiri constituency. The induction of a riot-accused as a representative of one of the main political parties raised considerable criticism, but was defended by party spokesman Nayan Mohanty, who claimed that charges against him had been "fabricated". [11]

In the run-up to the elections, Naveen Patnaik, leader of the Biju Janata Dal broke his ties with the BJP, saying that "the alliance in the state had to be broken because it became impossible for him to stay with the saffron party after the Kandhanmal riots which "horrified the entire world". [13]

Although the BJP did very poorly in the elections, failing to win a single seat in parliament, [14] it won two of the three state assembly seats in the Kandhmal district. In the 2009 Odisha Legislative Assembly election, Pradhan won the G Udaygiri seat, defeating the sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly Ajayanti Pradhan of the Indian National Congress by 20,000 votes. Pradhan became a Member of the Legislative Assembly, [15] but could not attend the oath-taking ceremony since his bail application was rejected by a court in Phulbani. [16] Eventually the high court granted him bail and he was able to take the oath a few days late. [17]

Summary of results of the 2009 Assembly Election

Manoj Pradhan
OrganizationBJP
Known forKandhamal riots
Criminal statusConvicted in 2
undertrial in 2
Conviction(s) Murder (2008)
Murder (2010)
Criminal charge4 Murders (2008)
Penalty7 year imprisonment (2008)
6 year imprisonment (2010)
Capture status
On bail
Member of the Odisha Assembly
for 10th Odisha Assembly from G. Udayagiri (Odisha Vidhan Sabha constituency)
In office
2009–2014
2009 Vidhan Sabha Election, G. Udayagiri [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
BJP Manoj Kumar Pradhan45,00943.92−
INC Ajayanti Pradhan 21,07420.56−
BJD Luko Sunamajhi15,81815.44−
Independent Saluga Pradhan 10,71510.46−
BSP Shyamaghan Pradhan2,0682.02−
IndependentNameswar Sunamajhi2,0271.98−
IndependentPradeep Kumar Konhar1,8401.80−
IndependentMenaka Pradhan1,5591.52−
IndependentSanjaya Pradhan1,4281.39−
SP Philmon Pradhan9380.92−
Majority23,93523.36 [lower-alpha 1] −
Turnout 1,02,53665.45−

Murder convictions

On 29 June 2010, a fast-track court set up after the Kandhamal riots found Manoj Pradhan guilty of the murder of Parikhita Digal, a Christian from Budedi village who was killed by the mob on 27 August 2008. [19] Pradhan was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment. However, after his election he was granted bail by the High court on 6 July. [20]

On 9 September 2010, another judge found Pradhan guilty in the murder of Bikram Nayak from Budedipada on 26 August 2008. [9] He was sentenced to six years imprisonment in this case.

These are two of the 12 cases relating to the Kandhamal riots in which Manoj Pradhan has been charged; there are two other murder cases yet to be decided.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naveen Patnaik</span> Indian politician (born 1946)

Naveen Patnaik is an Indian politician, writer and former Chief Minister of Odisha. Who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Odisha from 5 March 2000 to 12 June 2024. His 24-year reign is the second longest for a chief minister of any Indian state, after Pawan Kumar Chamling of Sikkim. He is the first president of the Biju Janata Dal since 1997. He served as the Union Minister of Steel and Mines from 1998 to 2000 and a member of the Lok Sabha from Aska from 1997 to 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kandhamal district</span> District of Odisha in India

Kandhamal district also known as Phulbani district is a district in the state of Odisha, India. The District headquarters of the district is Phulbani. It is a district full with natural beauties includes wild animals and birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khonds</span> Tribal community in India

Khonds are an indigenous Dravidian tribal community in India. Traditionally hunter-gatherers, they are divided into the hill-dwelling Khonds and plain-dwelling Khonds for census purposes, but the Khonds themselves identify by their specific clans. Khonds usually hold large tracts of fertile land, but still practice hunting, gathering, and slash-and-burn agriculture in the forests as a symbol of their connection to, and as an assertion of their ownership of the forests wherein they dwell. Khonds speak the Kui language and write it in the Odia script.

Religious violence in India includes acts of violence by followers of one religious group against followers and institutions of another religious group, often in the form of rioting. Religious violence in India has generally involved Hindus and Muslims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violence against Christians in India</span> Anti-Christian violence in India

Anti-Christian violence in India is religiously motivated violence against Christians in India. Human Rights Watch has classified violence against Christians in India as a tactic used by the right-wing Sangh Parivar organizations to encourage and exploit communal violence in furtherance of their political ends. The acts of violence include arson of churches, conversion of Christians by force, physical violence, sexual assaults, murders, rapes, and the destruction of Christian schools, colleges, and cemeteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babu Bajrangi</span> Bajrang Dal leader convicted for massacre of Muslims during the 2002 Gujarat riots

Babubhai Patel, known by his alias Babu Bajrangi, was the leader of the Gujarat-wing of Bajrang Dal, a Hindu right wing organization in India. He was a central figure during the 2002 Gujarat violence. He was sentenced to life term imprisonment by a special court for his role in masterminding the Naroda Patiya massacre in which 97 Muslims were murdered including 36 women, 26 men and 35 children. The Supreme Court of India granted him bail on medical grounds in March 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious violence in Odisha</span>

Religious violence in Odisha consists of civil unrest and riots in the remote forest region surrounding the Kandhamal district in the western parts of the Indian state of Odisha.

Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples were murdered on 23 August 2008 in the State of Odisha in India. Saraswati was a tribal activist Hindu monk and a Vishva Hindu Parishad leader. Seven Catholic Panos and one Maoist leader were convicted in the case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Odisha Legislative Assembly election</span> 2009 assembly elections in Odisha

The 2009 Odisha Legislative Assembly election took place in April 2009, concurrently with the general election. The elections were held in the state in two phases. The results were declared on 16 May. Despite having recently separated from the Bharatiya Janata Party after an eleven-year partnership, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) retained power in the Odisha State Assembly with a more convincing majority. Party chief Naveen Patnaik was formally re-elected as the BJD Legislature party leader on 19 May, thus paving the way for his third consecutive term as the Chief Minister of Odisha.

Subash Chouhan was the national President of the Bajrang Dal, a Hindutva organization in India that is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

Maya Surendrakumar Kodnani is a former Minister of State for Women and Child Development in the Government of Gujarat. Kodnani joined the 12th legislative assembly of Gujarat after being elected to represent the constituency of Naroda as a candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Muzaffarnagar riots</span> Hindu –Muslim clashes in Uttar Pradesh, India

The clashes between the Jat and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India.The Muslim community suffered the majority of the losses. Out of the 282 deaths reported in the police complaints, 250 were Muslims. Total death is 262 mostly and injured 930 and left more than 150,000 Muslim people displaced. By date 17 September, the curfew was lifted from all riot affected areas and the army was also withdrawn.

G. Udayagiri is a Vidhan Sabha constituency of Kandhamal district, Odisha.

Mahakalapada is an unreserved Vidhan Sabha constituency of Kendrapara district, Odisha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bijoy Mohapatra</span> Indian politician

Bijoy Mohapatra is a politician from Odisha. A leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he was Irrigation Minister of Odisha from 1990 to 1995 in the Biju Patnaik cabinet. He was the most powerful minister in Biju Patnaik's cabinet. He was four times MLA from Patkura Constituency of Kendrapara district. He won four straight elections in 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Kandhamal violence</span> Anti-Christian violence in Orissa

The 2008 Kandhamal violence refers to widespread violence against Christians purportedly incited by Hindutva organisations in the Kandhamal district of Orissa, India, in August 2008 after the murder of the Hindu monk Lakshmanananda Saraswati. According to government reports the violence resulted in at least 39 Christians killed. Reports indicate that more than 395 churches were razed or burnt down, between 5,600–6,500 houses plundered or burnt down, over 600 villages ransacked and more than 60,000 – 75,000 people left homeless. Other reports put the death toll at nearly 100 and suggested more than 40 women were sexually assaulted. Unofficial reports placed the number of those killed to more than 500. Many Christian families were burnt alive. Thousands of Christians were forced to convert to Hinduism under threat of violence. Many Hindu families were also assaulted in some places because they supported the Indian National Congress (INC) party. This violence was led by the Bajrang Dal, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the VHP.

Vikram Saini is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh representing the Khatauli assembly constituency. In 2022, he was convicted and sentenced to 2-years in prison in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case.

The 2007 Christmas violence in Kandhamal violence refers to the violence that occurred during the Christmas of 2007 between the groups led by Sangh Parivar together with the Sangh-affiliated Kui Samaj and the Christians in the Kandhamal district of Odisha.

The 2008 Kandhamal nun gang rape case refers to the gang-rape of a 28-year-old nun during the 2008 Kandhamal violence. The incident received media attention during the riots.

The 1998 Ramgiri-Udaygiri violence was an incident of violence that took place in the town of Ramgiri-Udaygiri in Gajapati District, Odisha on December 8, 1999. Two prisoners who were arrested for dacoity were murdered by a mob of 5000 tribal people after breaking into the sub-jail. In a separate case, a mob of 500 people looted and burned down 92 to 111 Christian houses and 2 Churches on the same day. 27 people were arrested.

References

  1. ↑ %of total valid votes
  1. 1 2 "Kandhamal riot: BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment". Daily News & Analysis. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  2. ↑ "BJP MLA convicted in Kandhamal riots case". Press Trust of India. The Hindu. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  3. ↑ "BJP lawmaker gets jail for murder in Kandhamal riots | Accident / Crime / Disaster". Indiatalkies.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  4. ↑ Karan, Jajati (30 August 2008). "Why Kandhamal is a battleground over conversion". CNN-IBN.
  5. ↑ Top Maoist commander Udaya nabbed Indian Express
  6. ↑ "Slain vhp man was conversion king". Indianexpress.com. 26 August 2008. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2008. Earlier, there had been two attacks on Lakshmanananda in 1971 and 1995. His recent troubles started last year when his car was stoned on December 24 by Dalit Christians in the native village of the Congress's Rajya Sabha MP, Radha Kanta Nayak, himself a Dalit Christian.
  7. ↑ "Killers of Laxmanananda Saraswati surrender". Zee News. 22 July 2009.
  8. ↑ "BJP's Kandhamal candidate Ashok Sahu arrested: | Lok Sabha Election news 2009 | Rediff.com". Election.rediff.com. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  9. 1 2 "BJP MLA convicted in Kandhamal riots case". The Hindu . 9 September 2010. [The court] convicted Pradhan for the murder of Bikram Nayak from Budedipada of Tiangia village under Raikia police station limits on August 26, 2008. ... for setting ablaze houses of people belonging to the minority community and inciting communal violence. ... the riots in Kandhamal which claimed at least 38 lives in the aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.
  10. ↑ Bhatia, Shireen (20 October 2008). "Soldier Protecting Christians Mutilated, Killed in Orissa, India". Right Side News. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2010. Orissa police have arrested one of the 'most wanted' in the anti-Christian riots in the state's Kandhmal district. Manoj Pradhan, a key tribal leader, was reportedly arrested at a lodge in Berhampur on Wednesday (Oct. 15) night. Arun Ray, inspector general of police, told media, 'The crime was planned much before'.
  11. 1 2 Mishra, Sandeep (30 March 2009). "In jail, Kandhmal riots accused gets BJP ticket". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  12. ↑ "India Soldier Hacked To Death For Protecting Christians; New Violence in Orissa". bosnewslife.com. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "Kandhamal caused BJP-BJD break-up: Naveen Patnaik". CNN-IBN. 9 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  14. ↑ "Parting ways with BJD proves costly for BJP". The Hindu . 17 May 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  15. ↑ "Simultaneous General Election 2009– ORISSA" (PDF). Orissa. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  16. ↑ "Orissa legislator, freed on bail, takes oath". twocircles.net. 6 July 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  17. ↑ "Riot-accused MLA gets bail". telegraphindia.com. 6 July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ↑ "2008 Kandhamal riots: BJP MLA sentenced to 7 years in jail". Ndtv.com. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  20. ↑ "Orissa HC grants bail to Kandhamal riot convict BJP MLA". Daily News & Analysis. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
State Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member of the  Odisha Legislative Assembly
from G. Udayagiri (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
2009 – 2014 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.