Summary
On the eve of Good Friday, 9 April, a group of gangsters
headed by Mr. Steven Mendonca, Deputy Major of Bhayandar,
disrupted the Maundy Thursday prayer service at the Our
Lady of Nazareth Church, Bhayandar in Thane District of
Maharashtra.
During the Thursday service, when the choir began to sing
a regional language hymn, the gangsters, armed with
swords and guns, attacked members of the choir. The
attackers forced the priest, Fr. Walter D'Souza, to
apologize for permitting them to sing the hymn in a
language not of the local people but of the majority of
the Christians in the parish.
Mr. Steven Mendonca intimidated the priests, Fr. Walter
D'Souza and Fr. Lawrence D'Souza, at the Church that,
“I have the capability of spinning the youth around
my fingers”, and his gang asked the priests to shed
their cassocks so they could beat them up.
In the attack, eight people were hurt, with two of them
severely injured and hospitalized. Police arrived but
left the scene without any intervention after a member of
the gangster, Mrs. Donabella Desai, warned them not to
intervene. The priests filed a complaint to the local
police, but were refused and were recommended to go the
district police headquarters instead.
Although the attack was sparked off under the pretext of
discontent towards languages, local source believes the
real issue behind is to retaliate Church's work on the
anti-corruption stand in Bhayandar parish and concerns
over human rights issues related to Special Economic Zone
(SEZ).
Environment of fear stalks the Church and community of
Bhayandar. Fr. Allwyn D'Silva, parish priest of Our Lady
of Nazareth Church, worries that these attacks would
continue and endanger not just the lives of the parish
community, but also damage Church properties and the
parish school.
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Action Requested
Please write polite letters expressing your
concern about the attacks on the Church members and
threats to parish priests, and request the authorities
to:
• offer protection to priests and members of the Our
Lady of Nazareth Church in Bhayandar;
• investigate into the attack and bring the
perpetrators to justice; and
• curb the activities of the gangs in the community
to ensure law and order.
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letters to: |
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Mr. Ashok Shankarrao Chavan
Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Government of Maharashtra
Mantralaya, Mumbai
INDIA
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Email:
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chiefminister@maharashtra.gov.in;
ashokchavanmind@rediffmail.com
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| Send
copies to: |
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Home Minister
Mr. Chhagan Bhujbal
Home Department,
Government of Maharashtra
Mantralaya, Mumbai
INDIA
Deputy Inspector of Police (Law and Order)
Ms Rashmi Shukla
Maharashtra State Police Headquarter
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg, Colaba
Mumbai 400 001
INDIA
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Email:
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DeputyChiefMinister@maharashtra.gov.in
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Diplomatic representatives of India in your
countries.
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Sample
Letter
We write with deep concern
for the parish priest, his assistants and the
Christian community at Our Lady of Nazareth
Church, Bhayandar, who suffered psychological
trauma after an the attack by gangsters during
the Holy Week service on 9 April.
According to information received, the
perpetrators were headed by Mr. Steven Mendonca,
Deputy Mayor of Bhayandar, as well as a
corporator. The gangsters were armed with swords
and guns, and attacked the members of choir
hurting eight people, with two severely injured.
The gang also threatened to beat the priests and
intimidated them saying, “I have the
capability of spinning the youth around my
fingers”. Noting Mr. Steven Mendonca is an
influential figure in the community, and local
police were also deterred from investigation into
the attack after warning by his gang, the
personal security of the parish priests and
members are of grave concern.
There are worries that the attack may be linked
to the Church's campaign against corrupt
practices and the rights issues related to the
Special Economic Zone.
Concerning the personal safety of the priests and
Church community, we sincerely request your
government to:
•offer protection to priests and
members of the Our Lady of Nazareth Church in
Bhayandar;
•investigate into the attack and bring
the perpetrators to justice; and
•curb the activities of the gangs in the
community to ensure law and order.
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Background
In the midst of attack, one of the members of the
congregation went to stop the attackers but they hit him
with a brick and injured him on his head. Bleeding
profusely he was rushed to the hospital. Terrified by the
gangsters, other church members went away.
When police arrived, Mrs. Donabella
Desai, one of the gangsters, drove these police away
stating that they too would be beaten up if they
intervened in this matter. She also told them that Mr.
Steven Mendonca was the head of this gang and it would be
good if they would remain out of the issue. The police
returned without any interference.
Mrs. Greta Farro, the sister of Mr.
Steven Mendonca, took the lead in going to Fr. Walter
D'Souza, and brought him to the crowd to insult him. Mr.
Steven Mendonca then made statements such as “I have
the capability of spinning the youth around my
fingers”, and he asked the priests to remove their
cassock so that his gang could beat them. He also forced
the priest to apologize for allowing the choir to sing
the regional language hymn. Fr. Walter D'Souza ultimately
apologized for the safety of the community.
It can be seen that the head of the
gangsters, Mr. Steven Mendonca, Deputy Mayor of
Bhayandar, has a lot of influence in the community and
benefited from the lack of opposition to his actions.
Such status quo changed when the new Parish priest, Fr.
Allwyn D'Silva, also the Chairperson of the Justice and
Peace Commission, Mumbai, and Vice President of
International Human Rights Education Consortium, USA, was
assigned there and appeared to challenge his interest.
Owing to the background of the gangster
as a Coroprator and hi links to developers of the Special
Economic Zone projects, local source believes the attack
is linked to the Church's work in defending rights of
people affected by the SEZ. It concerned the displacement
of ten fishing villages where Fr. D'Silva, as the Dean,
joined hands with the locals who were protesting against
it and strengthened their movement, and also Fr.
D'Silva's anti-corruption campaign against Mr. Steven
Mendonca. This probably harms the interest of Mr.
Mendonca.
Sources:
Local source
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