Phulbani: The State Police has made tight security arrangements in Kandhamal district for Sunday and Monday, in view of Church praying day and Janmashtami to ensure peace and harmony in the district, which witnessed communal tension in the past.
The death anniversary of VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati passed peacefully today with Bajrang Dal taking out a procession and also holding different religious meetings in Baliguda area today.
On Sunday and the Christian people residing in the district visited the Churches and offered prayers. On the next day, Monday, Hindu festival Janmashtami will be celebrated across the district with pomp and gaiety.
Keeping this in view, the Police has made elaborate security arrangements in the entire district. The District Administration has already held peace committee meetings across various blocks, involving members from different communities and religious groups to foster unity and understanding.
Recent social media posts have raised concerns about likely unrest, leading to heightened vigilance. Top Police Officials, Jai Narayan Pankaj and R P Koche are camping in the District.
Kandhamal SP Suvendu Patra said peace committee meetings have been held at each police station, bringing together diverse stakeholders, including religious leaders, local authorities, and political representatives. These meetings aim to maintain communal harmony and address any emerging issues, he said.
The peace committees are being held inviting prominent and elderly members of both communities, political and other party leaders, social workers, PRI Members and peace lovers of the society. Sub Collector, Tahasildar and IIICs are monitoring the programme. In all the meetings, resolutions are being adopted unanimously to maintain peace, harmony and fraternity at any cost during the particular celebrations, and those that are flaring tension and spreading rumors will be severely punished. Situation is now normal and armed police will be deployed in vulnerable places if needed, to maintain law and order situation, sources said.
The SP also assured that security forces will be stationed in vulnerable areas throughout the festival to prevent disturbances. Moreover the administration is committed to taking action against those spreading false rumors about potential riots.
Collector Amrit Rituraj said, “We have kept a vigil watch over the incident” and “I will look into the matter personally”.
It may be noted that, on the day of Janmastami, the VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati was gunned down along with four of his aides at Jalespeta Ashram on 23 August 2008 while Janmastami celebration was going on in the night.
In the aftermath of the incident, massive riots held in Kandhamal spread to neighbouring districts, killing 43 people, about 395 churches were raged, about 600 houses plundered or burnt leaving about 75,000 people homeless. The district administration responded with a 40-day curfew to restore order.