Bhubaneswar, Oct 18 : The judicial investigation into the Kandhamal violence in Orissa has begun.

A one-man Commission headed by a retired judge of Orissa High Court, Sarat Chandra Mohapatra, is probing the incident.

Justice Mohapatra has held initial discussions with district officials and senior police officers in Phulbani before proceeding to the Jaleshapata Ashram, where Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his aides were found dead on August 23.

Bhubaneswar, Sept 4 : Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Praveen Togadia’s proposed yatra carrying the ashes of slain Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati throught Orissa will not be allowed assured the State’s Government told the Supreme Court on Thursday.

A bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, directed the state government to ensure that no untoward incident takes place in riot-hit Kandhamal District.

The Orissa government said prohibitory orders under section-144 have been clamped in the area.

New Delhi, Sep 1 : A delegation of Christians met President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Monday to apprise her of the situation in Orissa in the wake of religious violence sparked by the killing of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader.

The violence was sparked in communally sensitive area when on Saturday about 30 heavily armed men raided a Hindu religious home housing mostly orphans in the rural Kandhamal district and killed five people, including a religious leader Swami Lakshmananda linked to VHP and opposed to conversion of tribals to Christianity.

Bhubaneswar, Sep 1 : The Orissa Government today said that over 558 houses and 17 places of worship have been burnt in communal riots following the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati''s on August 23.

The government further claimed that the situation in Kandhamal and elsewhere in Orissa was under control.

After a review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy said, “While 543 houses were burnt in the worst hit Kandhamal district,
15 houses had been set ablaze in Gajapati district.”

New Delhi, Aug. 29 : The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) today claimed that over 50 persons, mainly Christians, have been killed since the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists launched an attack on Christians last week.

It said that the deaths followed the murder of four of VHP members, including 90-year-old Laxmananda Saraswati by unidentified gunmen on August 23, 2008.