Agencies

Bhubaneswar, Dec 28 : Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday visited the riot hit areas of the state's Kandhamal district amid reports of fresh violence in the region where clashes between sections of Hindus and Christians since Christmas eve have left one person dead and dozens injured.

Map courtesy: The Statesman

Fresh incidents of violence have taken place at Brahmanigaon and Barakhama villages, a district police official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which had staged a flag march in the district headquarters of Phulbani, were expected to march through the other areas as well.

Since people have blocked roads putting wooden logs in many places, police and CRPF troopers were not able to reach all the riot-affected regions, he said. "As a result of that we are not able to gather details."

Curfew imposed Tuesday would continue in various places till the situation returns to normalcy, district police chief Narasimha Bhol said.

Patnaik, accompanied by state police chief Gopal Nanda, arrived at Phulbani and reviewed the situation with police and other officials.

The chief minister also made an appeal to the people to help bring normalcy to the region and to maintain harmony.

After returning from the affected areas, Patnaik told reporters at Bhubaneswar that the situation was normal in Kandhamal district to a great extent.

"I have directed the police administration to take strong action against the culprits," he said.

The district of Kandhamal (old Phulbani district) is considered one of the most communally sensitive regions in the state with numerous clashes reported between Hindus and Christians in the past.

The latest trouble started Monday morning in the Christian-majority Brahmanigaon village, 150 km from Phulbani, over Christmas celebrations.

While the Christian community wanted to celebrate the day in a grand way, a section of Hindus opposed the plan. This led to clashes between the Hindu and Christian groups.

The tension escalated when some people attacked the vehicle of local Hindu leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati near Daringbadi when he was on his way to perform a yagna there.

Saraswati and a person accompanying him were injured and their vehicle partially damaged. Hindu radical group Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a four-hour shutdown on Tuesday to protest the attack.

The trouble escalated with people burning dozen of churches, torching private and police vehicles and attacking houses of Christians. At least one person died and dozens were injured in the clashes between Hindu and Christian groups.

The local administration clamped curfew in at least four places on Christmas Eve night.

Despite the curfew, however, at least a dozen churches and a dozen vehicles, including two belonging to the police, were set on fire Wednesday. Besides, the protestors attacked the house of elder brother of state Steel And Mines Minister Padmanav Behera and torched one of his vehicles Tuesday, police sources said.

Thousands of security personnel from the state police and the CRPF have been deployed in the district.

Union Govt Concerned

 Agencies

The union government on Thursday expressed concern over the violence in Orissa, where communal tensions have touched a new high, and the National Commission for Minorities has sought a report from the state government on the increasing attacks on Churches and the community.

Two companies of the paramilitary troopers marched through the riot-hit areas even as state chief minister Naveen Patnaik rushed to Kandhmal district, where one person was killed and churches were attacked in the violence.
Patnaik and director general of police Gopal Nanda were at the district headquarters of Phulbani to talk with the tribals and leaders of Hindu and Christian communities.

The minority panel, which has taken suo-moto cognisance of the reports in media, has asked the state chief secretary to submit a report on the incidents there. According to NCM sources, a delegation would visit the violence-hit areas for on the spot assessment of the situation in the state.

Earlier in the day, the authorities claimed that the situation was under control. “Barring one or two minor incidents, the (Kandhamal) district by and large remained peaceful in the past 18 hours,” district police chief Narasimha Bhol told IANS. Reacting to the reports of increased violence, Sriprakash Jaiswal, minister of state for home affairs, said: “If situation is not under control today, we'll send a team. We have to get the violence under control and strict action has to be taken. We are taking this very seriously and hope the centre would take it seriously as well,” the minister said.

According to the local police, seven churches and prayer houses were attacked and set afire in Gandapadar, Badahapanga, Bhandarapada, Pisupadar, Masapadar, Minia and Adigara under Phulbani Sadar police station area.

“I have just returned from Phulbani. The situation has normalised to a great extent. Peace committees have been formed and they are working,” chief minister Patnaik said after paying a visit to the district headquarter town of Phulbani in the morning.

Referring to the ongoing agitation by tribals who were opposing granting of schedule tribe status to dalit Christians, Patnaik said the government would look into their grievances.

Patnaik, who was accompanied by Director General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda, said he had a thorough review of the situation prevailing in the district.

He also reiterated his appeal to the people of Kandhamal to main peace and harmony.

The Chief Minister, who admitted that some churches and prayer houses had been damaged during the past four days, said one person had been killed in the district so far.

More than two dozens of people had been arrested and action was being taken against the culprits, he said.

Orissa asks for more para-military forces 
 
IANS  
 
Bhubaneswar:- Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday sought five more companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from the union government to tackle the communal clashes in the state's Kandhamal district.

'Five companies of the CRPF have been sought from the centre besides more police force will be deployed,' Patnaik told reporters here.

More than a 1,000 policemen and three companies of the CRPF are already camping in the region after one person died and dozens injured in the communal clashes, which erupted on the Christmas Day.

The Kandhamal district, around 200 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar, has the second highest concentration of Christian population in the state and is considered a communally sensitive area.