The Naxal outfit of the CPI (Maoist) today claimed responsibility for the killing of Kandhamal’s VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati. With this confession, ongoing investigations into the killing of the Sangh Parivar leader will take a new turn.
Until now, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and other Sangh Parivar outfits in the area had been alleging the
involvement of certain Christian organisations and leaders in the murder that ignited communal passions in Orissa’s tribal district. The violence saw 17 killings, mostly of Christians.
Soon after the naxalites issued a statement late tonight saying they were behind the killing of Saraswati, Christian leaders in the area said their stand had been vindicated. The Naxals also demanded the release of 54 persons the police have rounded up in connection with the Swami’s murder. Certain quarters were however rife with discussions on the timing of the naxals’ statement, which comes 16 days after the killing on August 23.
In their note signed by Sunil, state general secretary of the CPI (Maoists), which is active in most tribal districts of Orissa, the naxals have made elaborate references to the spate of communal violence that started in Orissa last December at the behest of the Sangh Parivar.
Blaming the VHP and the Bajrang Dal for the brutal persecution of Christians in Kandhamal, the Naxals referred as to how the minorities had yet not been compensated for the losses they suffered during the last riots.
