Violence has again returned to strife-torn Kandhamal district. A tribal was shot at and two houses torched in G Udaygiri block of Kandhamal late on Saturday evening.

Sources said that a group of unidentified people shot Manoj Pradhan (33), a Hindu, in his leg outside his residence. "The attackers fired five rounds at Pradhan but only one bullet hit him. He was rushed to a local hospital and later shifted to district hospital, Phulbani. The attackers couldn't be identified. But the possible role of Christian group of Maoists is being probed.

On the same evening, two houses were burnt in Kurumingia village in G Udaygiri. One house belonged to a Christian while the other to a tribal-Hindu. This has led to suspicion that mischief mongers could be behind the incident with a view to fuel the ethno-communal fire yet again.

Saturday's violence coincided with the visit of the one-man judicial commission, headed by retired Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra, to the troubled area. It also came a day before a district-level peace committee meeting, convened by the Kandhmal collector Krishan Kumar, to sustain the fledgling peace process.

Orissa DGP Manmohan Praharaj was there in Kandhamal for last two days. Two cabinet ministers of Orissa Govt. were at Kandhamal to review the situation when the incidents took place.