The Rediff Special/ The attack on Christian school
'All through the attack, they kept
saying mar dalo, khatam kar do'
Amberish K Diwanji at Kosi
On April 11 at 0100 IST, nine or ten men broke into St Theresa's Convent at Kosi in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh and left behind a trail of destruction. They also left behind a raging controversy.
The police say it was a case of housebreak and robbery. But the victims see it as another link in the long chain of attacks on Christians in the state.
Father K K Thomas, the school principal, who received serious head injuries in the attack is recuperating in a New Delhi hospital, while two nuns have been treated for minor wounds and sent to the Mother House in Jhansi.
The attack took place at 0100 hours, said Father Verghese Kunnath, who rushed from the Agra Diocese as soon as he learnt about it.
"Father Thomas heard the dogs barking and looked out through the window. He could not see anything. He then blew his whistle," said Father Verghese. Normally, the two watchmen on duty would have whistled back indicating everything was fine. That night, however, there was no response.
"He stepped out of his room to check what was wrong when about five or six people pounced upon him," said Father Verghese. He added that all through the attack, the attackers kept saying mar dalo, khatam kar do.
The commotion woke up some nuns sleeping in a nearby building. When they stepped out to check, they too were assaulted.
The attackers later ransacked the entire premises, sparing just the nuns' rooms.
The vandals robbed Rs 80,000 from the school office and snatched away wrist watches worn by the father and the nuns.
"Later they went down to the chapel and took out ice cream from the fridge. They ate to their heart's content and left at around 0300 hours."
After the robbers left, the sisters found the two watchmen bound and gagged. They were freed and the police informed.
"In the past few years such incidents of violence against Christians have been on the rise," said Father Verghese.
At the Kosi police station police officers, however, are convinced that the attack was a case of robbery. "Rs 80,000 provided the temptation. Obviously, the robbers had information about the cash," said a police official.
They said they are under tremendous pressure to apprehend the attackers. "Since this concerns a minority community we are under pressure from the government as well as the media to show results fast," said Inspector H N Yadav.
He said that the two watchmen are being interrogated. "The very fact that the watchmen were simply trussed up while the goons went around attacking everybody is suspicious."
Back at St Theresa's School, life is limping back to normalcy. The school is closed on account of a series of holidays. When students return next week there may be no signs left of the attack, but the ugly memories would be hard to erase.
The Rediff Specials
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