Tension once again gripped Orissa'sriot hit Southern district of Kandhamal, about 260 kilometers away from Bhubaneswar after some unidentified gun men shot dead one RSS worker of the district on March 19.
The victim was identified as P Panigrahi of Bandapipili village, and was said in the hit list of the church sponsored terrorists. The goons shot him dead at Rudiguma area, situated some 150 kilometers away from Phulabani district headquarters. It may be noted that the victim was one among those arrested in connection with last year communal flare up following the brutal murder of Swami Laksmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008. Panigrahi was released from Baliguda jail on bail on March 14.
Highly placed police sources apprehended that around 20 armed goons entered into the village in the wee hours of the day and fired at Panigrahi till he took his last breath. The killers however blocked the road between Kotagada and Rudiguma by felling trees, which took more time for the police to reach the spot after clearing the road.
State Police and Central Para-Military Forces have intensified search operations in near of forest areas to locate the fleeing killers. ?We have rushed additional forces to the spot and closely monitoring the situation,? Kandhamal SP S Praveen Kumar said.
Meanwhile, the brutal murder of RSS worker might further aggravate the situation with BJP announcing to make Swamiji'smurder as major poll issue. The incident has sent a shock wave among RSS workers in the riot hit district.
Senior RSS and VHP leaders alleged that the killers were paid goons of church. ?This was an act of church to demoralise Vanvasi Hindus in Kandhamal,? Hindu Jagaran Samukhya State chief Ashok Sahu said.
(FOC)
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