Normalcy returning to violence-hit Orissa

Life is limping back to normalcy in Orissa where communal strife has claimed 16 lives, the police said on Wednesday.

Life is limping back to normalcy in Orissa where communal strife has claimed 16 lives, the police said on Wednesday.

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Inspector General of Police Pradeep Kapur said that the worst-hit Kandhamal and Koraput districts had reported no breach of law and order on Tuesday and early Wednesday.

“But the possibility of fresh violence can never be ruled out. We are here to intervene promptly if such things happen,” Kapur, camping in Kandhamal, told IANS over telephone.

The violence erupted after Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and four others were killed by unidentified gunmen at his ashram in Kandhamal Aug 23.

The police said that Maoists were responsible for the killing. But blaming Christians for the murders, thousands of Hindus attacked Christian homes and churches. The violence left at least 16 people dead.

The government deployed police and paramilitary forces in 12 of Orissa's 30 districts. Curfew was imposed in Kandhamal and in a part of Koraput.