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This is an archive article published on June 25, 2000

Christian graves, cross damaged in Andhra

JUNE 24: Miscreants entered a Christian cemetery at Rajahmundry in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh yesterday and damaged graves, ...

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JUNE 24: Miscreants entered a Christian cemetery at Rajahmundry in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh yesterday and damaged graves, the police said. Using crowbars and shovels, the unidentified miscreants dug up a portion of about 45 graves, damaging the cross erected atop each of them, District Superintendent of Police A B Venkateshwar Rao said.

The cemetery, which houses nearly 10,000 graves, is located adjacent to the St Paul East Parish Church, the SP said, adding no arrests have been made so far in this connection.

The incident comes close on the heels of attacks on churches at Ongole and Tadepalligudem in the state earlier this month.

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Meanwhile, the recent reconversion of five members of a family from Christianity to Hinduism in a remote village of Cuttack district in Orissa has taken a new twist with the District Magistrate issuing notices to the organisers, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the converts for violating the Orissa Freedom of Religions Act.

DM Pradeep Kumar Jena issued the notices yesterday to the VHP and the President of the Banabasi Kalyan Ashram, Swami Pranrupananda, who had organised the reconversion ceremony on the ashram’s premises at Keuta Bereni Village, about 25 km from here, and one Dinabandhu Chatter, whose family was reconverted to Hinduism on June 17.

According to official sources, they were asked to explain how the reconversion ceremony was conducted without prior information being given to the district administration as required under the law. Jena issued the notice following the receipt of a report from a team of officers deputed to the village to verify the facts, sources said.

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