Volume 15 | Issue 21
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Murder accused priests still serve holy mass Irien Joseph Raina Paul The accused priests in the murder of Fr K J Thomas are still celebrating mass in different churches across Karnataka. Fr K J Thomas, the 63-yearold rector of St Peter’s Pontifical Seminary, Malleshwaram, was murdered on March 31, 2013. The Yeshwantpur police filed the first charge-sheet on June 17, 2014, naming three accused, Fr Elias Daniel, Fr William Patrick and a layman called Peter. On November 27, a second chargesheet was filed that named seven people as accused: Fr A Thomas, Fr Anbu John, Fr I Anthappa, Fr Anthony Prasad, Rita Rini, Fr Chowrappa Selvaraj, and Raphael Raj. None of the accused have been arrested yet and they are free to serve mass in their respective churches, despite protests from the dead priest’s family. Church authorities have refused to take action against the accused and they are involved in various activities of the church. Fr I Anthappa, the senior most Kannada priest at Clergy Home, said: “We are all innocent. Fr Patrick and Fr Elias Daniel are also innocent, they
are put behind bars for no reason. "I don’t know anything and I don’t even know Fr K J Thomas. If I haven’t done anything, why should I prove myself innocent? “We went to the jail ourselves to know the truth and the arrested priests have given us a letter stating that we are innocent.” Thomas Mathew, nephew of Fr Thomas, said: “This is going to be big trouble for the church as this is the first time a charge-sheet has been submitted in the court accusing priests for their direct involvement in a murder. The fact is that K J Thomas is no more, but the priests who are accused should be removed from the ministry.” Presently, the accused Fr Chowrappa Selvaraj is serving as parish priest at St Joseph’s Church in Chamrajpet. He is also the principal of St Joseph’s High School. The other accused Fr Anbu John serves as parish priest at Sacred Heart Church in Silvepura. Thomas Mathew said, “The reason for Fr Thomas’s death was due to linguistic rivalry. He got involved in the fight between Kannada priests association and the Tamil group. Both Tamilians and Kannadigas claimed that the seminary belonged to them. Fr K J Thomas
Suspects in the murder of Fr KJ Thomas June 2014: Fr William Patrick arrested, lodged in Parappana Agrahara prison, Bengaluru
BRIEFS Lost and found: postcode lottery of state’s missing kids A child missing in Bangalore is 15 times more likely to be traced than a child in the rest of Karnataka, according to crime records. Page 2
Tracks caused cracks as residents told: don’t come back
June 2014: Fr Elias Daniel arrested, lodged in the same prison
Beds, mattresses and furniture are lying outside homes in Balepet after residents were asked to evacuate at short notice due to metro tunnel boring.
November 2015: Fr I Anthippa accused of murder in the second charge-sheet
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got into the tug of war between these two communities.” “Fr Thomas never let any of these priests get involved in matters relating to the seminary and did not give access to
Government doctors forced to work without pay any of the documents. The accused priests wanted the property and Fr Thomas was an obstacle. So they cleared him out of their way.
contd. on page 3
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, December 10
Students in government medical colleges under the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute have either not been paid the revised stipend or have not been paid at all. Page 3
The fight for human rights On International Human Rights Day, The Observer explores real stories from Bangalore – of everyday battles for survival against all odds. Photo courtsey: Parvathi Benu
More on Page 4…
Healthcare will improve when politicians are forced to use it, says NGO lawyer On International Human Rights Day, we unravel stories of men and women in Karnataka that highlight how humans here battle for theirs. Page 4