Four persons were killed when the police opened fire to disperse a mob which attacked places of worship, prayer halls and shops at Barakhama in Kandhamal district, Director General of Police Gopal Chandra Nanda said.

Three persons were killed when their houses were torched in Raikia area around midnight last night, official sources said.

Two others, including a woman, were killed when a missionary-run orphanage was set on fire on Monday.

Almost the entire Kandhamal district was placed under indefinite curfew following continued violence. All major towns are under curfew and Rapid Action Force (RAF), CRPF and state police were deployed, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division) Satyabrata Sahu said.

"The district has also been made a no entry zone. No one is being allowed to enter from outside as part of steps to restore normalcy and peace," Sahu said.

Sporadic violence was also reported from Gajapati, Rayagada, Sundergarh and Kendrapara districts during the day.

In the state capital, a large number of sadhus and sants were taken into custody as a preventive measure while they were trying to march towards the state assembly building to protest the killing of Saraswati.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 were also in force Kalahandi.

Saraswati and four others were gunned down at an ashram for girls at Jalespeta in Tumudibandh area of Kandhamal on Saturday night.

Home Secretary T K Mishra met Governor M C Bhandare and was believed to have apprised him of the situation in Kandhamal and elsewhere following the largescale violence.

Barakhama, the scene of the firing, is considered communally sensitive and had witnessed riots in December, 2007.

A large number of churches, houses, and vehicles were torched by mobs in several areas including Nuagaon, Udaygiri, Raikia, Phiringia and Baliguda since Monday.

The Vatican condemned the attacks, calling for ‘an end to all bullying’ and a return to dialogue.