One killed in fresh violence in Kandhmal

Bhubaneswar, Sep 25: In fresh spurt of violence in the strife-torn Kandhmal district, miscreants today set fire to several houses and hurled bombs, killing one person and injuring another under Raikia police station, witnessing the violence for the last few days.

Police said over one hundred people armed with lethal weapons attacked the Sisapanga village under Raikia police station and set fire to the houses. The mob hurled bombs in which two people were critically injured, one of them succumbed to the injuries at the Raikia Hospital.

The deceased, police said, had sustained multiple injuries on his body.

Another report said a former Sarpanch was also hacked to death by the mob in Salaguda village under Gochhapada police station, but the police is yet to confirm it.

Reports said the angry mob went on rampage attacking houses and setting them on fire in some villages under Raikia and Gochhapur and Tikabali police stations.

The force could not be mobilised as the mob had blocked the road at several places. At one place, while the force was trying to clear the road, the mob heavily pelted stones forcing the police to open fire in the air.

The situation in these three police station was described as tense but under control. Police said a former army man kidnapped by the mob from his house at Damiguda village under Tikabali police station yesterday is still remained untraced.

The ex-army man had reportedly opened fire at the crowd which infuriated the mob to attack his house and abduct him. He was later taken to forest and his fate is no yet known.

Yesterday, a person was killed and some were injured in police firing in Raikia. After the incident, an irate mob blocked the road to prevent the movement of the police force.

The tribals in Kandhmal are up in arms, particularly after the firing by the CRPF jawans in Kurtamagarh on September 13 in which four tribals were killed and several injured.

The angry tribals then attacked the Gochhapara police station, and set it afire and killed a police constable. The armed tribals also attacked the Raikia police station.

The tribals again attacked Raikia Police station on last Tuesday and tried to release two of their fellow villagers arrested in connection with the riots in the district.

This led to a clash between the CRPF jawans and the villagers in which one person was killed in police firing and several others were injured.

Peeved at the police action, the angry tribals yesterday also blocked the Phulbani-Berhampur road and set fire to some houses.

Apprehending further trouble in the area, the authority has clamped curfew in some sensitive pockets.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who reviewed the Kandhmal situation at a high level meeting here today, dashed a letter to Union Home Minister asking for ten more companies of CRPF to be deployed in the trouble torn district.

Already 43 companies of CRPF had been deployed in the district witnessing communal violence ever since VHP leader Swami Laxmananda Saraswati and four of his disciples were assassinated by unknown assailants inside the Jalaspeta Ashram on August 23 last.

UNI