Somasekhara Commission report has buried the truth: Justice Saldanha

Udupi, February 13: Former judge of Karnataka High Court M.F. Saldanha said on Saturday that the final report of the Justice B.K. Somasekhara Commission, which went into the church attacks in the State in September 2008, “has buried the truth and is a bundle of falsehoods”.

He was speaking at a public meeting against the Somasekhara Panel's Report organised by the Udupi branch of International Federation of Karnataka Christian Associations and Bharatiya Christa Okkoota, near the Deputy Commissioner Office here.

Mr. Saldanha said the police had colluded with the elements of Bajrang Dal in the church attacks. The then Home Minister V.S. Acharya could not escape the responsibility for these attacks. A nun had lost her eye in the attack.

He had conducted a People's Tribunal Enquiry and had gone into all the facts about the church attacks. He would submit his report to the President of India Pratibha Patil in New Delhi on February 14.

Though the Somasekhara panel blamed the saffron groups in its interim report, the findings of the final report contradicted those of the former. “Unless the guilty are punished, they will feel encouraged,” Mr. Saldanha said.

The former Chairman of Legislative Council David Simeon said the attacks on religious minorities in the State began within six months of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power in the State. The BJP was raising the bogey of conversion for its own selfish ends.

Recently a large number of Dalits had been converted to Buddhism in Gulbarga. Did the Government arrest them? It was incumbent upon leaders of all political parties to condemn such attacks, Mr. Simeon said.

General secretary of State unit of Karnataka Komu Sauharda Vedike (KKSV) K.L. Ashok said the Somasekhara Panel's report was fit to be consigned to the dust bin. The Report was tailor-made to save the BJP Government from any embarrassment. “If conversions had to be stopped, why was the Pejawar seer visiting Dalit colonies? Any attack on Muslims or Christians is an attack on democracy and secular fabric of the nation,” he said.

The meeting passed six resolutions. The CBI should be asked to probe the church attacks. Continuous protection should be given to places of worship belonging to minority communities. Proper compensation should be given to the places of worship and individuals during the attacks. Organisations and individuals responsible for the attacks should be punished. Cases slapped against innocent youth should be withdrawn.

Episcopal Vicar of Udupi district Baptist Menezes, Area Chairman of Karnataka Southern Diocese Edward Karkada, president of Udupi district unit of KKSV G. Rajashekhar, president of Catholic Sabha, Mangalore, Walter Pinto, president of District Minorities Forum Khatib Rashid, president of Udupi Muslim Okkoota M.P. Moideenabba, Secretary of Popular Front of India Rafiq Majur, president of DSS Udupi unit Shekhar Hejmady were present.