Ex-judge blames Yeddyurappa for church attacks

Former Karnataka High Court judge M F Saldanha has accused CM B S Yeddyurappa and former home minister V S Acharya of being party to attacks on churches in Karnataka in September 2008, in an ‘independent’ report he compiled on the attacks.

Justice Saldanha’s report, prepared with the support of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and Transparency International, was released in Mumbai on Tuesday. It runs counter to an official report of the Justice B K Somashekhara commission of inquiry, which had ruled out state conspiracy.
The report, based on interviews with victims of the attacks primarily in Mangalore region, says the attacks “were not only supported by the state but were also covered up for by the state”. “The responsibility for this devolves squarely on Home Minister V S Acharya and the Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa,” it says.
Following the attacks on the churches, right-wing groups such as the Bajrang Dal, VHP and Sri Rama Sene had justified it as a reaction to conversions carried out by Christians.