Security was beefed up across Kandhamal district on Friday as a precautionary measure to avoid any possible untoward incident during observance of the 11th death anniversary of Hindu monk Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and celebration of Janmashtami, birthday of Lord Krishna.
Two officers in the rank of DSP and two platoons of police were deployed at Chakapada and Jalespeta Ashrams to maintain law and order during observance of Saraswati’s death anniversary, informed Kandhamal SP Prateek Singh.
Notably, Saraswati had been shot dead in the Jalespeta Ashram on the Janmashtami day in 2008.
Besides, police patrolling was done at all the sensitive locations in the district, said the SP. Combing operations were also intensified at different Maoist-infested areas in the district.
Notably, the tight security is put in place in the district every year since Saraswati and four of his aides were killed at Jalespeta Ashram on August 23, 2008. The killing had triggered a communal violence in the district in which at least 38 people were killed.