A five-member central team of the Congress visited Kandhamal district on Saturday to find out the circumstances that led to the death of five innocent villagers during the anti-Maoists operation at Gumudumaha on July 8.
The team comprising senior leaders like V Kishore Chandra Deo, Jairam Ramesh, KH Muniappa, Vincent Pala and Arun Oraon talked to district administration officials and SP Pinak Mishra at Baliguda. Then, they talked to family members of the deceased. “Many tribals have already been killed in police firing during the BJD rule in Odisha. The Government has been intimidating tribals not to raise voice against the Government,” said Ramesh, former Union Forests and Environment Minister, adding the Government is fully responsible for killing of tribals on July 8. He said the Government has already turned anti-tribal and has done no developmental work in tribal dominated areas of the State.