Kandhamal burns, six more killed
Four persons were killed in group clashes and two protesters fell to police bullets on Tuesday in the communally-sensitive Kandhamal district of Orissa.
By Nageshwar Patnaik, ET Bureau |
BHUBANESWAR: Four persons were killed in group clashes and two protesters fell to police bullets on Tuesday in the communally-sensitive Kandhamal district of Orissa as violence forced the state administration to impose curfew in almost the entire district.
Reports of burning of churches and prayer halls at Nuagaon, Udayagiri, Phiringia, Baliguda,Tikabali and Raikia poured in. Houses were also torched at some places. As communal violence spread to more areas in the district, security forces staged flag marches at several places.
The violence erupted following the gunning down of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati. ���People started fleeing their villages fearing attacks by the rival community members,��� official sources said. Kandhamal district collector Krishan Kumar said: ���The situation is highly tense but under control.���
���Almost the entire district of Kandhamal was placed under indefinite curfew following continued violence. All major towns are curfew-bound,��� revenue divisional commissioner (southern division) Satyabrata Sahu told ET.
Three platoons of Rapid Action Forces (RAF) have been sent to the district to douse the communal fire. The RAF personnel, CRPF and Orissa State Armed Forces, besides state police, have already been deployed in sensitive areas in the district, official sources said.
���However, we are facing problem in force mobilisation due to blockade of roads at different places by the protesters,��� official sources added.
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At Phiringia, a mob attacked the local block development officer and his team and torched their vehicles. The officials ran for their life. Similarly, at some places, the protesters set alight the official quarters. The block development officer is reportedly missing after the incident.In the state assembly, the Opposition raised a storm demanding a debate on the deterioration of law and order situation in the state, besides a CBI probe into the killing of the seer and the communal violence. Speaker Kishore Mohanty was forced to adjourn the house at least five times.
The BJP on Tuesday condemned the recent spate of violence in the state, but party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad denied that the miscreants involved in burning alive a woman in Bargarh, reportedly in retaliation to the Swami���s murder were from the VHP.
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