Tension grips Orissa hamlet after burning of tribal houses

Tension grips Orissa hamlet after burning of tribal houses
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

Berhampur, Jan 3: Tension between tribals and Pana Christians shows no sign of subsiding in interior Gajapati. Close on the heels of the Mandrabaju and Majhiguda incidents one more such case has come to light in Amarpur, 26 kms from Majhiguda.

According to reports, tribals attacked Amarpur, a village of Pana Christians, over a land dispute recently and set fire to houses.

The simmering discontent over land led to a flare-up between the groups about five months back. However, timely intervention by police prevented any escalation of violence. Two sections of police were delpoyed in the village to protect the 17 Pana families. Despite the security the Pana families gradually deserted the village and shifted to other places.

Immediately after the Majhiguda clash, police stationed at Amarpur were shifted. Taking advantage of the absence of police some miscreants, suspected to be tribals, set fire to all the houses on the night of December 31.

The report of the incident reached the administration more than24 hours after the incident. Though no casualty was reported as no one was there in the village, the incident has spread panic among the Pana community here.