Police file chargesheet in Kandhamal riot cases

The Orissa police last week filed chargesheets in 437 of the total 827 cases registered during 2008's Kandhamal violence.

Chargesheet had been filed in 437 cases and investigation was on in other 354 cases of Kandhamal riot, including the nun rape case, Director General of Police (DGP), Manmohan Praharaj said.

According to Praharaj, the police have also arrested Uday alias P Rama Rao, one of the two who opened fire at Swami Laxmananda Saraswati. It is yet to nab Drona Kesaba Rao.

The DGP clarified that the arrested Naxalites "does not have any religion" and hence cannot be classified as Christians or Hindus.

Further, when questioned on M2, a newly formed outfit issuing threatening letters in Kandhamal, Praharaj said, the police "have some idea...they are mischief mongers trying to create communal tension".

Meanwhile, in the nun rape case, the Crime Branch (CB) has failed to nab the remaining two of the 19 accused persons. Therefore, the CB is seeking to declare the two as absconders while chargesheet against seven others are underway.

Investigating officer Dilip Kumar Mohanty says if the legal sanctions are done, then police could seize their property if they fail to surrender before the investigating agency.

Last week, tension was running high in the district of Kandhamal, after threatening posters against newly elected BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan was found.

"We are investigating the matter after threat posters were recovered from Raikia area," Kandhamal SP Praveen Kumar said.

Pradhan, currently lodged in jail for his involvement in last year's violence on Christians, says officials, is one of the 14 names in the Maoist hit-list.