The Kandhamal riot could have been avoided if the State Government had disclosed the letters of the Maoists issued right after the murder of Swami laxmanananda Saraswati,” said senior journalist Sampad Mohapatra here on Thursday during the hearing of the AS Naidu, Commission probing the 2008 Kandhamal violence.
Following the murder of the Swami on August 23, 2008, the police had found two letters from the spot sent by the Maoists, who had owned the responsibility of the murder. Even Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda confessed in his interview to an electronic channel that his outfit had killed the Swami. But the Government did not disclose the letter then triggering communal tension. Hence, it is a matter of probe to find out why the Government did not reveal the letters, said Mohapatra.
It was a major lapse on part of the State Government for hiding the letters, he pointed out. The hearing of the commission was adjourned for Friday.