CSW today condemned the murder of Hindu leader Swami Lakhmananda Saraswati on Saturday, and the "horrific" attacks which have been launched against the Christian community by Hindu extremists subsequently.

Naxalites, or Maoist insurgents, have been blamed for the killing of Saraswati and his four associates, but the extremist Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), of which Saraswati was a local figurehead, has responded by launching a devastating series of attacks on Christian targets, including murders, rape and widespread destruction of property, and publicly inciting further hatred against Christians. Saraswati and his followers were widely implicated in the anti-Christian attacks in Kandhamal district, Orissa, over Christmas 2007.

So far, at least five fatalities have been reported, including an employee at a Catholic orphanage who was burnt to death when the building was torched on Monday, and a man suffering paralysis burnt to death when he was unable to escape his burning house. Unconfirmed reports say three men were hacked to death by VHP members yesterday. A Catholic nun was gang-raped on Sunday, and churches are thought to have been attacked in at least twelve of Orissa's thirty districts. The same buildings which sustained damage in the Christmas attacks have been targeted again.

Some estimates suggest that the material damage over the weekend has already exceeded that which took place over Christmas 2007, in which at least 95 churches or Christian institutions and 730 other properties were damaged or destroyed.

Rapid Action Force troops have been deployed in Kandhamal district, but reports indicate that the violence is continuing throughout the state.

Dr Joseph D'souza, President of CSW's partner, the All India Christian Council (aicc), said, "We mourn and lament this tragic assault on reason and justice in India. The killing of Saraswati and his associates is deplorable to the Christian community, but the response of the VHP to attack innocent Christians is sickening. The government must act now to protect those who are most vulnerable. The current number and distribution of security forces in Orissa is nothing like enough to deal with the problem. We appeal to the Prime Minister of India to lead a delegation to meet the victims as a matter of urgency. We appeal to the international community to raise their voices to bring peace in an area where more people will die unless something is done urgently."

CSW Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert, said, "We condemn both the murder of Saraswati and his associates, and the horrific attacks which have taken place subsequently, and send our sincere condolences to the innocent victims of violence in Orissa. These incidents send a tragic signal that large parts of Orissa are not under the rule of the law but under mob justice. The killing of Saraswati is an ominous warning that if justice is not done and seen to be done, the people may take matters into their own hands. Ultimately, this will leave the minority Christian community even more vulnerable.

"We urge the Indian government and Orissa state government to bring a decisive end to the cycle of terrible violence by restoring order and protecting the vulnerable Christian communities who have become the scapegoats. The current violence must be urgently brought to an end, and then we will look to the Orissa government to deliver prosecutions of the perpetrators, to compensate the victims properly, and to demonstrate to the world that the rule of law does still apply in India."

Widespread anti-Christian violence took place in the Kandhamal district of Orissa over Christmas 2007 (see 'CSW calls for justice for victims of violence in Orissa state, India', 31 December 2007). CSW subsequently released a briefing on the violence, in which we called for the government of India to, "Address the widespread allegations (included those made by the National Commission of Minorities) of incitement to violence by Hindu extremist groups, specifically the VHP and its local leader, Swami Lakhmananda Saraswati, and ensure that any extremist religious groups found to be complicit in inciting violence are banned in Orissa state".