Bhubaneswar, Dec 12 The delegation of ministers, led by Odisha Deputy Chief Minister K.V. Singh Deo, on Friday submitted its report on the ground situation in violence-hit Malkangiri district, where the recovery of a tribal woman's headless body had enraged local tribal residents, who subsequently set fire to houses and damaged the properties of hundreds of Bengali-speaking residents of the MV-26 villages on December 7 and 8.
Speaking to media persons, Gokulananda Mallick, Minister for Fisheries and Animal Resources Development, said: "We have prepared a report on the basis of whatever we came across during the discussions with both the Bengali-speaking and tribal communities and submitted to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The Chief Minister will examine the report and take appropriate action in this regard. The most important point is that both communities want peace, and it is the government’s duty to ensure that peace is maintained.”
Notably, the ministers had visited Malkangiri district on Thursday and held discussions with various stakeholders in the presence of senior officials of the district administration and the Odisha Police.
According to reports, the murder of a 51-year-old tribal widow, Lake Padiami from Rakhalguda village -- reportedly over a land-related dispute -- and the subsequent recovery of her headless body after four days, floating in a river, triggered widespread violence by tribals of Rakhalguda and adjoining villages on Sunday and Monday.
The protesting villagers set more than 50 houses on fire and ransacked over 160 houses belonging to residents of the MV-26 village. Hundreds of Bengali-speaking families -- who migrated from Bangladesh decades ago and have been residing in MV-26 -- fled their homes and took shelter in nearby villages to escape the violence.
In view of the tense situation, the state government clamped prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS Act and suspended internet services in the district. Several platoons of the Central Armed Police Forces and the Odisha Police have also been deployed to prevent further escalation.
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