Training gun at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the killing of civilians during a police-Maoist crossfire in Kandhamal district on Friday night, Opposition Congress and BJP on Sunday called Kandhamal Bandh on Monday.
PCC president Prasad Harichandan, who visited the mishap site near Mugudumaha village in Gumushunah jungle and met the family members of the deceased tribals, termed the killings as unfortunate and held the Chief Minister directly responsible for the crime.
“Tribals are being targeted by the State Government. The yesterday’s incident is another example of cop brutality on innocent tribals. We will protest the killings by observing Kandhamal bandhtomorrow,” said Harichandan.
The BJP too announced to hold a peaceful hartal in Kandhamal on Monday while a delegation of the party led by State president Basanta Panda would visit the site on Tuesday.
“It is a very shocking incident and such incidents have been happening in regular intervals due to callousness of the Chief Minister and the State Government,” said Panda.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra demanded immediate action against the Brahmapur IG and the Kandhamal SP and their removal. “The State Government should remove the IG and the Kandhamal SP with immediate effect and initiate exemplary action against them as they are responsible for the death of six civilians, including a 15-month-old baby girl. The Government should register a murder case against these two officials,” Mohapatra demanded. Expressing grave concern over the incident, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the incident reflects the attitude of the State Government towards poor tribals.
“let the Orissa High Court monitor the investigation by a sitting Judge. The State Government must form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to ensure a fair and unbiased probe into the incident,” he said.
Meanwhile, the last rites of all the deceased persons were conducted on Sunday.