Mangalore : Former CSI Bishop sentenced to prison for forging birth documents

Mangalore : Former CSI Bishop sentenced to prison for forging birth documents

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Mar 20, 2013  : A second additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Mangalore has sentenced Devaraj Bangera, former bishop of CSI, Karnataka Southern Diocese, to three years of imprisonment for forging his birth certificate.

Bangera was charged with forging documents  to prove that he was born on June 29, 1945 instead of 1944. The incident took place when he was serving as Bishop. The Protestant Christians Association had alleged that the birth certificate of the then Bishop  from the Kasargod Municipality was forged.

 An RTI query by the Association then had even proved that the date of birth of the then Bishop was June 29, 1944 as per his SSLC certificate and  Kasargod Municipality actually had no record in his name.Consequent upon this, Udayachandra Kaundsa of Bejai, a leader of the Association had lodged a complaint in November 2008 in Mangalore East police station alleging that  the former Bishop had

intentionally changed his year of birth just to continue as Bishop for one more year, as the CSI norms requires a Bishop to step down at 65.

Though the former Bishop stepped down following protest, he had moved the court stating that he had one more year’s term. However, the court dismissed his plea.

Bangera  assumed office as Bishop on October 9, 2004 and had claimed with CSI Madras that he was born in 1945, though the school certificate at the Udupi Christian School where he studied showed his year of birth as 1944, the complainant Uday had said.

Sources said that the former Bishop has also been accused of being involved in financial bungling and had also distanced himself from the people.