Zeenews Bureau
Kandhmal, Sept 16: A jawan of the State Armed Police was killed and another injured on Monday late night when a mob of about 500 people attacked the Gochapada police station in Orissa’s Kandhamal district.
A large number of attackers armed with country-made guns
and crude weapons set ablaze the police station at Gochapada early this morning, Director General of Police Gopal Nanda said.
Other policemen present at the police station, located
about 36 km from district headquarters town of Phulbani,
seemed to have fled into the forest as they were heavily
outnumbered by the attackers, he said.
Kandhamal District Collector Krishan Kumar said the mob
comprised about 500 people who were carrying fire arms and
other weapons.
Additional security forces have been deployed in the area
in the wake of the incident in the sensitive district, both
the DGP and the district collector said.
Police sources said the mob was demanding release of a
man held by the security personnel but local residents felt
that the attack was retaliatory action of the police firing at
Kurtamgarh in Tumudibandh area on September 13.
The roads leading to Gochapada had been blocked by
logs and boulders which were being cleared to facilitate the
movement of forces, the sources said.
The state police chief said it was not the first instance
of a police station being attacked and torched as similar
incidents had taken place during the riots that had rocked
Kandhamal district in December 2007.
The state is witnessing a communal flare up since August 23 after Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a central advisory committee member of the Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP), and four others were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal district.
Till Monday the death toll in religious violence in Orissa was 24 with security forces recovering one more body in Kandhamal district, the police said.
The dead body was recovered from Krutamgarh village in Kandhamal district where security forces fired at a mob Saturday evening to prevent them from attacking Christian residents.
The police had initially said that two persons were killed in the firing.
With the recovery of one more body, officials said the number of persons killed in police firing has now mounted to three.
"With the latest deaths the number of persons killed in communal clashes in the state since Aug 23 has gone up to 24," state inspector general of police Pradeep Kapur told reporters.
Police suspect Maoist rebels killed them but some Hindu groups blamed Christians for the murder and went on the rampage. Christian groups have repeatedly denied the allegation.
Since the evening of Aug 23, the state has witnessed communal violence in which thousands have been rendered homeless.
NHRC team to visit Orissa`s violence-hit Kandhamal District
The National Human Rights Commission will be sending an investigation team to the violence affected areas of Orissa to make an inquiry on the spot to ascertain the factual position.
The Commission’s move comes on a petition submitted to it by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, seeking protection from violence at the hands of the fundamentalists.
The petition said that the attacks on Christians started with the murder of VHP leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008 in Kandhamal District.
Some organizations had pointed out finger at the Christian community for the murder and thereafter the community was targeted, the petition said.
Further it alleged that despite the assurance of protection from the Government, the fundamentalists were moving about with lethal weapons threatening the Christians.
The petitioners said that the destructive activities of the fundamentalists, even in the presence of police was forcing the Christians to flee their homes and take refuge in the forest or even leave the State.
The petition highlighted that there were atleast 40 to 50 thousand refugees in the State.
The Commission after going through the petition said that the allegations raised serious questions of violation of human rights. It said that a copy of the petition be sent to the State Chief Secretary and DGP for a report within two weeks.
With ANI inputs
