Christians arrested in connection with Jhabua violence acquitted

Sixteen Christians, who were arrested two years back in connection with the violence that erupted in Jhabua following the discovery of the body of a young Hindu girl in a Catholic school compound in Jhabua in 2004, have finally been acquitted. Of them, 14 had spent over two years in jail.

Acquitting the accused Christians on May 31, Judge Shaida Bano Rahman of the Alirajpur Sessions Court, in his 60–page judgment, cited lack of evidence and said prosecutors had fabricated and manipulated testimonies against the accused.

The Jhabua violence, which resulted in the burning of three churches, and illegal detention of several Christians since January 2004 until date, and the torching of houses of 15 Christian families, was ignited by the rape and killing of a 9–year old girl called Sujata within a church compound in Jhabua on January 11, 2004. However, subsequently, police investigations revealed the rapist and the murderer was a Hindu.

The main accusation leveled against the Christians, besides the allegation of the murder of Sujata, was the killing of a Hindu fundamentalist, Arjun Pal, in a skirmish that took place on January 16, 2004, between Hindu and Christian groups.

According to sources, Arjun was on his way to Aamkout with his friends when suddenly they came upon some Christians. Immediately Arjun and his friends opened fire and shot arrows at them.

This led to a skirmish in which Arjun was fatally wounded by one of his own people. On realizing what had happened, the extremists dumped Arjun's body into a jeep and rushed away, later accusing the Christians of killing him.

A source, on conditions of anonymity, said that there were many discrepancies in the police version of the incident. "After the Christians were accused, a top police official told reporters that Pal was shot at from the church building," he said. "But the church is about three kilometers [nearly two miles] from the crime spot."

According to the source, supporters of the Hindu nationalist outfit, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sought help in covering up the murder of Arjun from a local BJP MLA, and pressured the local police to implicate the Christians.

Following the incidents of violence, a one–man committee was also instituted by the state government which alleged that "huge conversions" in Jhabua were widening the rift between the Hindu and Christian communities and were leading to communal tension.

The report allegedly substantiated its findings with official census data for the period 1991–2001, which records an "increase" in Christian population in the area compared to the previous decade.

The report also suggested that the State Government make the existing anti–conversion law more stringent to dissuade the Christians from forcibly converting the Hindus.

This report was heavily criticized by the Christian leaders as the Superintendent of Police of Jhabua district himself had said that no complaints of forcible conversion had been registered in the district in the last 10 years.

According to Fr. Babu Joseph, spokesman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the innocent people should not have languished in the prison for so long.

Welcoming the judgment of the Sessions Court, Fr. Joseph said, "Two years in jail for no crime is a matter of grave concern for all who believe in the values of liberty, fairness and justice."

Father Anand Muttungal, spokesman of the Madhya Pradesh Catholic Bishops' Conference said acquittal of the Christians "has vindicated the Church once again."