Mobile phones flared up Kandhamal violence, says police

Guess, what is the latest to crop up in the list of elements that flared communal violence in Kandhamal? Mobile phones, says a senior police officer.

Speaking at a national seminar in Bhubaneshwar on Tuesday, Orissa's Director General of Police, Manmohan Praharaj, blamed the advancement of technology and mobile phones for the incessant violence on Christians in the communally sensitive district.

The easy access and wide network of mobile phones were handy for extremists to organise and engineer violence in the aftermath of Swami Laxmananda's murder, says the DGP.

While admitting that it was a daunting task to curb violence, he also pointed that earlier years police never were balked by such incidents due to very primitive technologies.

The seminar on the "Role of Police in promotion of communal harmony and national integration" had other speakers like Madhusudan Padhi, Special Administrator for Kandhamal, and Praveen Kumar, Kandhamal's Superintendent of Police.

Padhi has a different take on the violence. He forthrightly blames it on conversion, alleged issue of fake certificate and disputes over land between tribals and scheduled castes to have fanned the riots.

One must study the reasons behind disharmony before mooting on communal harmony, he stressed, adding causes for Gujarat riots and Kandhamal were not equivalent.

For Kumar, such situations can be tackled only when there are "dedicated police officers". He underlined the need for a united approach in such situations, educating that with the police, other sectors like health, education and revenue must work in tandem to bring peace.

Kandhamal had witnessed widespread communal violence after the murder of Swami Saraswati and four of his aides at his ashram Aug 23, 2008.

Thousands of Christians were forced to flee their homes after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs following the killings.