NHRC issues notice to Orissa govt over communal violence

The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Orissa Govt over the spate of communal violence in the state.

The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Orissa Govt over the spate of communal violence in the state.

HT Image

The notices have been issued to Chief Secretary and DGP of Orissa "calling upon them to submit a detailed report of the violence in the state since the killing of religious leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others," an official spokesperson said.

The commission has asked for the report to be submitted within two weeks, he said.

Curfew was relaxed for 10 hours in violence-scarred Kandhamal district today where the death toll in the communal clashes mounted to 12 with recovery of two bodies, even as security forces staged a flag march to maintain peace.

"The situation is now fully under control and no fresh incident of violence was reported since yesterday," Deputy Inspector General of Police RP Koche said.

Two bodies believed to be of victims of earlier violence were recovered from Phiringia and Sarangagarh, an official said.

A large number of people who had taken shelter in forests following the violence after the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati on Saturday night have started returning, Kandhamal District Collector Krishan Kumar said.