Home Minister Shivraj Patil on on Wednesday visited riot-hit areas in Orissa and assured that the central government would extend all possible help
BHUBANESHWAR: Home Minister Shivraj Patil on on Wednesday visited riot-hit areas in Orissa and assured that the central government would extend all possible help to bring normalcy in the state where communal clashes since Aug 23 have claimed 16 lives.
Patil, who arrived here in the morning, reviewed the overall situation and then toured the worst hit Kandhamal district.
He visited some of the affected areas and a relief camp to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. More than 20,000 people have taken shelter in 11 relief camps in Kandhamal.
"As per impression, it is unfortunate", Patil told reporters here.
"I have asked the chief minister to prepare a plan to support the poor who suffered in the incident. They will be required to be given relief till they return to their respective houses," he said.
"Confidence should be given to people to go back to their respective villages without fear," he said adding that the central government would support the state in this matter.
Communal violence erupted in Orissa 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.
Inspector General of Police Pradeep Kapur said there was no violence reported from the worst-hit Kandhamal and Koraput districts Tuesday and Wednesday.
"But the possibility of fresh violence can never be ruled out. We are here to intervene promptly if such things happen," said Kapur, who is camping in Kandhamal.
The government deployed police and paramilitary forces in 12 of Orissa's 30 districts after the clashes erupted. Curfew was imposed in Kandhamal and in parts of Koraput.
The Supreme Court has meanwhile sought a reply from the Orissa government by Thursday on the Cuttack archbishop's plea for the safety of Christians in the state.
Fearing renewed violence during a proposed procession led by VHP leader Praveen Togadia to carry Saraswati's ashes, the bench has asked the state government to detail steps taken to ensure that no violence takes place.
The fear was expressed by Archbishop Raphael Cheenath's counsel Colin Gonsalves, who told the court that there had been a spurt of violence, in which several people were killed, during the leader's funeral procession.
The archbishop has said in his petition that the Orissa government was deliberately not deploying enough security in villages in Kandhamal.
He alleged that the police were instead permitting perpetrators of the violence to continue their assault against Christians and were not taking any steps to protect them.
The VHP said it would go ahead with its plan of organising the procession.
"We will carry out the yatra to all villages in Orissa and no one should stop us," VHP state general secretary Gouri Prasad Rath said.
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