Manoj Pradhan is an Indian politician from the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
, who was convicted of murder in January 2010.
[ He was elected from the ]G. Udayagiri
G. Udayagiri, or simply Udayagiri, is a town and a notified area committee in Kandhamal district in the state of Odisha, India.
Geography
G. Udayagiri is located at . It has an average elevation of .
Demographics
India census
A census is ...
assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
constituency from the state of Orissa
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...
. He has been convicted in two cases of murder during the Kandhamal riots of 2008, in which 38 people were killed and more than 25,000 Christians were displaced. During the swearing-in of the state assembly, Pradhan was in jail but was given 15 days bail so he could participate.
Background
Manoj Pradhan belongs to the Kandha tribe, and hails from Laburigaon village in Kandhmal
Kandhamal district is a district in the state of Odisha, India. The district headquarters of the district is Phulbani. Kandhamal is famous for its local turmeric renowned as 'Kandhamal Haldi' which has earned the Geographical indication (GI) tag ...
district.
With 80% of the population living below the poverty line, Kandhamal
Kandhamal district is a district in the state of Odisha, India. The district headquarters of the district is Phulbani. Kandhamal is famous for its local turmeric renowned as 'Kandhamal Haldi' which has earned the Geographical indication (GI) tag ...
is one of the poorest districts of India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The population is largely tribal, with the scheduled tribes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
of Kandha, constituting 55%, along with a minority of Pana tribals. Under circumstances of severe governmental neglect, Christian missionaries were able to convert many of the Pana, who had their own forms of religion, over the last five decades. The Kandha are largely Hindu or believe in local animistic faiths.
Over the last four decades, the Christian conversion was opposed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian right-wing Hindu organization based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "to ...
led by Swami Laxmanananda. In August 2008, Laxmananda was murdered
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
by a squad of armed Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
s, leading to widespread riots in which Manoj Pradhan had a leading role.
Kandhamal riots
After Laxmananda's murder, Hindu mobs were convinced that Christians, who may have been behind several earlier attacks on him, were behind the murder. Eventually, however, a Maoist couple, Surendra Vekwara and Ruby, who were alleged to have killed the Swami, surrendered to the Orissa police. The trigger had apparently been pulled by Maoist leader Udaya.
However, BJP leaders like Manoj Pradhan and Ashok Sahu incited Hindu mobs to attack the Christian Pano tribal villages. The mob set fire to many Christian settlements, killing at least 38 people.[
] More than a thousand people are still living in Government refugee camps.
Indictment and arrest
During the investigations of the riot, Manoj Pradhan, though not named in the initial First Information Report
__NOTOC__
A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...
, was charged in 12 cases under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence),
302 (murder), 341 (wrongfully restraining someone), 342
(wrongful confinement) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive
substance with intent to destroy houses etc.) of the Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in ...
/ Pradhan went into hiding, and was listed as one of the "most wanted" in police files. After his arrest in October 2008, the investigating officer Arun Ray, stated that much of the killing during the riots had been "planned much before".
During the investigation of the riots, Manoj Pradhan emerged as one of the firebrand leaders of the mob; police dossiers describe him as "the field commander"[ who led the rampaging mobs. On 15 October 2008, he was injured in a shootout during a period when the armed constable Bakshis Singh of the elite ]Central Reserve Police Force
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...
was killed while trying to protect the minorities.
Pradhan had to undergo hospital treatment, and was staying at a lodge in Berhampur
Brahmapur (; also known as Berhampur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha. Bramhapur is most famous for its street food, silk sarees or pato sarees, temples and many historical places. Bramhapur al ...
that night when he was arrested. The riots died down the same month.
2009 elections
For the Indian general election in Orissa, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Odisha were held for 21 seats with the state going to the polls in the first two phases of the general elections. The major contenders in the state were the Third Front, Indian National Congress and the Bharati ...
, the Bharatiya Janata Party inducted Pradhan, who had little political experience, as its candidate for the state legislature from the G Udaygiri constituency. The induction of a riot-accused as a representative of one of the main political parties raised considerable criticism, but was defended by party spokesman Nayan Mohanty, who claimed that charges against him had been "fabricated"
In the run-up to the elections,
Naveen Patnaik
Naveen Patnaik (born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician serving as the current and 14th Chief Minister of Odisha. He is also the president of the Biju Janata Dal, a writer and has authored three books. He is the longest-serving chief min ...
, leader of the Biju Janata Dal
The Biju Janata Dal (; BJD) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Odisha founded and led by Naveen Patnaik, the current Chief Minister of Odisha and the son of former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, after whom the party i ...
broke his ties with the BJP, saying that "the alliance in the state had to be broken because it became impossible for him to stay with the saffron party after the Kandhanmal riots which "horrified the entire world".
Although the BJP did very poorly in the elections, failing to win a single seat in parliament, it won two of the three state assembly seats in the Kandhmal district. In the 2009 Odisha Legislative Assembly election
The 2009 Odisha Legislative Assembly election took place in April 2009, concurrently with the general election. The elections were held in the state in two phases. The results were declared on 16 May. Despite having recently separated from the Bh ...
, Pradhan won the G Udaygiri seat, defeating the sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly
A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...
Ajayanti Pradhan
Ajayanti Pradhan is an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress, who was elected from the G. Udayagiri assembly constituency from the state of Orissa in 2004.
Career 2004 elections
In the 2004 Odisha Legislative Assembly election, ...
of the Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
by 20,000 votes. Pradhan became a Member of the Legislative Assembly, but could not attend the oath-taking ceremony since his bail application was rejected by a court in Phulbani
Phulbani is a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kandhamal district in the state of Odisha in India.
History
It is named after the lady 'Phulardei' who was sacrificed by the local inhabitants as an act of religious ritual to Mother ...
. Eventually the high court granted him bail and he was able to take the oath a few days late.
Summary of results of the 2009 Assembly Election
Murder convictions
On 29 June 2010, a fast-track court set up after the Kandhamal riots found Manoj Pradhan guilty of the murder of Parikhita Digal, a Christian from Budedi village who was killed by the mob on 27 August 2008.
Pradhan was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment. However, after his election he was granted bail
by the High court on 6 July.
On 9 September 2010, another judge found Pradhan guilty in the murder of Bikram Nayak from Budedipada on 26 August 2008.[ He was sentenced to six years imprisonment in this case.
These are two of the 12 cases relating to the Kandhamal riots in which Manoj Pradhan has been charged; there are two other murder cases yet to be decided.
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pradhan, Manoj
Indian politicians convicted of crimes
Living people
Politicians convicted of murder
Year of birth missing (living people)
People from Kandhamal district
Hinduism-motivated violence in India
Indian people convicted of murder
People convicted of murder by India
Hindu nationalists