Tension continued in the strife-torn Kandhamal district for the fourth day today, with incidents of arson and vandalism being reported from several parts of the district in defiance of prohibitory orders.
The killing of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, the senior VHP leader, which triggered a wave of violence and sparked communal tension in the district has claimed at least four lives and has also rendered several persons injured.
Many homes and prayer houses were reportedly damaged in Raikia, G Udayagiri, Phulabani, Chakapada, Tumudibandh and Baliguda areas despite the prohibitory order in force and the presence of a thick blanket of security persons in the district.
"Tension is continuing in several parts of the area and we have mobilised the additional forces to maintain law and order” said Satyabrata Sahu, revenue divisional commissioner of the southern division.
However, he did not confirm the number of casualties in the violence.
Sahu has been camping in the district since the escalation of violence following the death of the Swami and his four other followers at Jalespeta ashram near Tumudibandha by the miscreants on Janmashtami.
Out of the four lives claimed in the violence, one person was lynched and charred to death by an angry mob in Rupagaon village under Raikia police station while another three persons were allegedly lynched at Tiagion village under the same police station.
The angry mob lynched these people, when they tried to escape after setting ablaze their houses, an unconfirmed report said.
Meanwhile, in the wake of continuing violence in the district, the district administration has extended the curfew for an indefinite period in the sensitive areas including Phulabani, the district headquarter town, Tumudibandha and Baliguda.
While the prohibitory order was clamped in the entire district under section 144, the district administration is planning to impose night curfew in the most trouble prone areas like Raikia, Phiringia and K Nuagaon area.
"We are keeping a watch on situation and if it is beyond our control, we will be forced to impose the prohibitory order" said a senior district officer.
