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			{{Short description\|none}}
	{{mergefrom\|Swami Lakshmanananda\|Talk:Murder of Swami Lakshmanananda#Swami Lakshmanananda\|date=November 2008}}
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=May 2020}}
	'''Murder of Swami Lakshmanananda''' and four others occurred in August 2008 in ]n state of ]. ] was a ] monk who opposed the ] activities {{Fact\|date=October 2008}} and organised reconversions of the tribals {{Fact\|date=October 2008}}. He was earlier subject to many attacks. As ] reported, a prominent Maoist leader said that there was pressure from both Christians and ] to eliminate him as he was not paid any attention to Maoist's warning of desisting from anti-Christian activities. He was also accused by Maoists for creating a riot in December 2007 and subsequently targeted people indulging in ], adding opposition from people of both the communities. <ref>http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/05orissa1.htm</ref>
			{{Use Indian English\|date=May 2020}}

			{{Infobox civilian attack
	== Murder ==
			\| title = Murder of Lakshmanananda Saraswati
	He was killed at his kanyashram (Girls school) at Tumudibandh, about 100 km from ], the district headquarters of ]. Four others including a boy were also killed.<ref> The Economic Times - August 24, 2008</ref>
			\| location = ], ]
			\| date = 23 August 2008
			\| partof = ] and ]
			\| map = {{Location map\|Odisha
			\| width = 250
			\| float = right
			\| label = Kandhamal
			\|marksize = 8
			\|lat_deg = 20.47
			\|lon_deg = 84.23
			}}
			\| coordinates = {{coord\|20.47\|N\|84.23\|E}}
			\| target = To assassinate ]
			\| type = ] ]
			\| weapons = ] and other revolvers
			\| fatalities = 5 (including ])
			\| perpetrators = 8
			\| assailants = 7 Christians and 1 Maoist leader
			}}
			{{Infobox person
			\| name = Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati
			\| image =
			\| caption =
			\| birth_date = {{Circa\|1926}}
			\| birth_place = ]
			\| death_date = {{death date and age\|2008\|8\|23\|1926\|df=y}}
			\| death_place = ] ], ] ]
			\| death_cause = ]
			\| burial_place =
			\| nationality = ]
			\| occupation =
			\| father =
			\| mother =
			}}

			] '''Lakshmanananda Saraswati''' ({{Circa\|1926}}–23 August 2008) and four of his disciples were murdered on 23 August 2008 in the State of ] in ]. Saraswati was a tribal ] monk and a ] leader. Seven Catholic Panos and one Maoist leader were convicted in the case.
	The murder was committed on the Kanya Ashram (a residential school) which housed 130 girls on the day of the ] festival. A group of 30-40 armed men surrounded the Ashram. Four of the assailants carried AK-47s and many others had locally made revolvers. Two of the four government provided security guards had gone home to eat. The assailants tied and gagged the two remaining guards<ref>http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/aug/28orissa1.htm Who killed Swami Lakshmanananda? Krishnakumar P, August 28, 2008 </ref>.

			== Previous attack ==
	Many of the girls were eyewitnesses to the killing of the swami, as reported by Indian Express<ref>http://www.indianexpress.com/story/354813.html Trauma in ashram, schoolgirls witnessed Swami’s murder</ref>
			Saraswati was on his way to visit ] when a bus belonging to Sugriba Singh, a Catholic Pano leader and ] Member of Parliament (Lower House) obstructed the road. Saraswati was attacked on the spot- Saraswati, his driver and his security guard had all sustained injuries. In a statement, Saraswati had identified ], an ] Member of Parliament in the ], as being involved in the attack. Nayak also served as chief of the Christian-evangelical organisation ]. Saraswati had further stated that this was the seventh time that they had failed to kill him.<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/story/353136.html \|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104110758/http://www.indianexpress.com/story/353136.html \|url-status=dead \|archive-date=4 January 2013 \|title=Slain vhp man was conversion king \|publisher=Indianexpress.com \|access-date=18 September 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web \| url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/81970/page/1 \| title = Christians fear attacks by Indian Hindus \| publisher = newsweek \| date = 29 December 2007 \| access-date = 1 January 2008}}{{Dead link\|date=October 2010\|bot=H3llBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/61677/RSS-wing-blames-Cong-MP-for-triggering-communal-tension-in-Kandhamal.html\|title=RSS wing blames Cong MP for triggering communal tension in Kandhamal\|date=27 December 2007\|access-date=29 September 2009\|work=The Pioneer}}</ref><ref name="gpages">{{cite web\|url=http://bharatam1.googlepages.com/kandhamal.pdf\|title=Kandhamal (Orissa)\|author=Justice on trial}}</ref>

			== Threat ==
			Saraswati received an anonymous threat only a week before his assassination. Ashram authorities also filed a ] (or FIR) with the local police. However, no steps were taken to provide appropriate security cover to him, despite ample evidence that there were very real threats being made on his life and the lives of those he served.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/3566/Anti-conversion-swami-4-others-shot-dead.html \|title=Anti-conversion Swami 4 others shot dead \|publisher=The Pioneer \|date=1 January 1970 \|access-date=1 November 2013}}
			</ref> The Government of Odisha later admitted that lapses might have occurred in his security and would place Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Nikhil Kanodia and officer-in-charge of Tumudibandha police station Jena under suspension.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/19131/2-suspects-held-for-swamis-killing.html \|title=2 suspects held for Swami's killing \|publisher=The Pioneer \|date=1 January 1970 \|access-date=1 November 2013}}</ref>

			== Assassination ==
			Saraswati was murdered on ] Day of 2008 while visiting with pupils at the Kanya Ashram (a residential girls' school) in Tumudibandh, about 100 km from ], the district headquarters of ]. Four of his disciples, including a boy, were also killed by gunfire.<ref>
			, The Economic Times, 24 August 2008.{{dead link\|date=February 2015}}</ref>

			The Kanya Ashram housed 130 girls on the day of the Janmashtami festival and many of the girls were witness to the killing, as reported by Indian Express.<ref></ref> A group of thirty to forty armed men surrounded the Ashram. Four of the assailants carried AK-47s and many others had locally-made revolvers. Two of the four government-provided security guards had gone home to eat, and the assailants tied and gagged the two remaining guards.<ref></ref>

			==Civil disorder and riots==
			{{Further\|2008 Kandhamal violence}}
			Hundreds of people gathered on the route to pay their last respects to Saraswati. Riots erupted when the procession passed through localities with Catholic populations. Catholics, who were perceived to be ] party supporters, were targeted everywhere; in some places many Hindu families were also attacked because they were Congress supporters. The attackers included activists of the ], the ] and other ] organisations, and workers of the ] that was a partner in the government headed by ]. The violence also saw attacks on Catholics who belonged to the Pano ] and on people who claimed tribal status on the grounds that they spoke the ] of the ] tribal people. The Kui Samaj, which unites members of the native Kondh tribe (both Hindus and Protestant Khonds) in Kandhamal, was found to be leading the attacks on Catholic Panos.<ref>
			Prafulla Das, {{usurped\|}}, Frontline, 13 September 2008.
			</ref>

	==Investigations==		==Investigations==
	The government announced a special investigative probe into the attack.<ref> The Hindu - ~~August~~ 24, 2008</ref><ref> ~~NDTV~~ - August 24, 2008</ref>		The government announced a special investigative probe into the attack.<ref>
			The Hindu - 24 August 2008</ref><ref> {{webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827033900/http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080062715 \|date=27 August 2008 }} NDTV - 24 August 2008</ref>

			The police arrested Pradesh Kumar Das, an employee of ] of ], a Christian charity organisation, from Khadagpur while escaping from the district at Buguda. In another drive, two other persons, Vikram Digal and William Digal, were arrested from the house of Lal Digal, a local militant Catholic, from Nuasahi at Gunjibadi, Nuagaan. They have admitted to having joined a group of twenty-eight other assailants.<ref name="dailypioneer.com">{{cite web\|url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/19104/Widespread-anger-in-Kandhamal-over-killings.html \|title=Widespread anger in Kandhamal over killings \|publisher=The Pioneer \|access-date=1 November 2013 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102224051/http://www.dailypioneer.com/19104/Widespread-anger-in-Kandhamal-over-killings.html \|archive-date=2 November 2013 }}</ref>
	However, Hindu groups in the state, including the BJP, blamed Christians for killing Lakshmananand. They cited Lakshmanananda's claims that Christians were trying to eliminate him for his opposition to conversion, and had attacked him eight times before. He was regularly receiving death threats and the last threat letter had been submitted to the Police only the day before the murder.{{Fact\|date=September 2008}}

			On 28 August, a letter of denial was received by some ] outlets, the VHP office in the ] District of Orissa and the Bajrang Dal from a Maoist group. While the letter denied that the Central Committee of the Kotagarha branch of the Maoists had approved the attack, it claimed that some Maoists may have been bribed by Pano Catholics to launch the attack.<ref>
	The Orissa state crime branch police team, has released computerized sketches of two suspects believed to be behind the brutal attack<ref>http://www.hindu.com/2008/09/11/stories/2008091152750300.htm Sketches of suspects of Swami Lakshmanananda murder released</ref>.
			The Hindu, 29 29 August 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2015.</ref> Soon after the appearance of the aforementioned letter, Azad, a leader of the Maoist People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, claimed responsibility for the murder of Lakshmanananda. Azad was suspected by the police of leading the attack himself.<ref name="ToIaug30">{{cite news \| title = Maoists claim they killed 'fascist' VHP leader in Orissa \| date = 30 August 2008 \| url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-claim-they-killed-fascist-VHP-leader-in-Orissa/articleshow/3423908.cms \| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121022093031/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-08-30/india/27940401_1_maoists-claim-swami-laxmanananda-saraswati-vhp-leader \| url-status = live \| archive-date = 22 October 2012 \| access-date = 31 August 2008\| first1=Sandeep\| work = ] \| last1=Mishra}}</ref> On 9 September 2008 the Maoists, who work underground, made an official press release claiming responsibility for the killing of Saraswati.<ref name="Maoistrelease">{{cite web \| title = CPI Maoists claim VHP leader's killing \| publisher = NDTV \| date = 9 September 2008 \| url = http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080064612&ch=9/9/2008%209:16:00%20AM \| access-date = 9 September 2008 }}</ref> A few claims that Maoist sympathizers of south Orissa had initially denied the role of CPI-Maoist were made in the murder of VHP leaders that sparked off communal violence in Kandhamnal district.<ref>{{cite news\| url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/29/stories/2008082952080300.htm \| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080901082135/http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/29/stories/2008082952080300.htm \| url-status=dead \| archive-date=1 September 2008 \| location=Chennai, India \| work=] \| title=Maoists deny role in VHP leader's murder \| date=29 August 2008}}</ref> ] leader ] claimed that they killed Saraswati and four of his disciples at his Jalespeta ashram on 23 August.<ref>{{cite press release \| title = Maoists claim responsibility for killing of VHP leader \| work = The Hindu \| date = 5 October 2008 \| url = http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/Maoists-claim-responsibility-for-killing-of-VHP-leader/article15317244.ece \| access-date = 5 October 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite press release\| title = We killed Swami, Maoists say again \| date = 6 October 2008 \| url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/We-killed-Swami-Maoists-say-again/articleshow/3562518.cms \| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121022093039/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-10-06/india/27909177_1_maoists-swami-laxmanananda-saraswati-riots \| url-status = live \| archive-date = 22 October 2012 \| work = ] \|access-date = 5 October 2008}}</ref> In March 2009 police arrested Central Committee and Politburo member of CPI (Maoist), ] for murder of Saraswati.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/maoist-mastermind-behind-laxmanananda-killing-arrested/\|title=Maoist mastermind behind Laxmanananda killing arrested\|website=indianexpress.com\|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>

			On Wednesday 22 July 2009, a young Maoist couple, Surendra and Ruppi Pidikka alias Jaya Venkwara claimed to have been involved in the Saraswati's killing and surrendered to the Orissa police.<ref> Zee News - 22 July 2009</ref>
	On August 28, a letter of denial was received by a some ] outlets, the VHP office in the ] District of Orissa and the Bajrang Dal from a Maoist group. While the letter denied that the Central Committee of the Kotagarha branch of the Maoists had approved the attack, it claimed that some Maoists may have been bribed by Christians to launch the attack.<ref> The Hindu - August 29, 2008]</ref> Sources within the police force have said that Maoists could have carried out the operation to appease their Christian support base.<ref> NDTV - September 4, 2008 </ref> Soon after the appearance of the aforementioned letter, Azad, a leader of the Maoist People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, claimed responsibility for the murder of Lakshmanananda. Azad was suspected by the police of leading the attack himself. <ref name ="ToIaug30"> {{cite web
	\| title = Maoists claim they killed 'fascist' VHP leader in Orissa
	\| publisher = ]
	\| date = 30 August 2008
	\| language = English
	\| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Maoists_claim_Orissa_killing/articleshow/3423908.cms
	\| accessdate = 2008-08-31 }}</ref> On September 9, 2008 the Maoists, who work underground, made an official press release claiming responsibility for the killing of Lakshmanananda. <ref name ="Maoistrelease"> {{cite web
	\| title = CPI Maoists claim VHP leader's killing
	\| publisher = NDTV
	\| date = September 9, 2008
	\| language = English
	\| url = http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080064612&ch=9/9/2008%209:16:00%20AM
	\| accessdate = 2008-09-09
	}}</ref> Many Maoist sympathizers of south Orissa had initially denied the role of CPI-Maoist in the murder of VHP leaders that sparked off communal violence in Kandhamnal district. <ref>http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/29/stories/2008082952080300.htm</ref>. ] leader Sabyasachi Panda claimed that they killed Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples at his Jalespeta ashram on 23 August
	<ref>{{cite press release
	\| title = Maoists claim responsibility for killing of VHP leader
	\| publisher = The Hindu
	\| date = October 5, 2008
	\| language = English
	\| url = http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/05/stories/2008100560400800.htm
	\| accessdate = 2008-10-05
	}}</ref>
	<ref>{{cite press release
	\| title = We killed Swami, Maoists say again
	\| publisher = The Times of India
	\| date = October 6, 2008
	\| language = English
	\| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/We_killed_Swami_Maoists_say_again/articleshow/3562518.cms
	\| accessdate = 2008-10-05
	}}</ref> <ref> ] - October 5, 2008</ref>.

			Reconstructing the final moments of the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda and his four disciples in Kandhamal's Jalespeta ashram in August 2008, Orissa police said that a Maoist who surrendered this week claimed there were four policemen at the ashram but they fled when the Maoists announced that they had come looking for the Saraswati. Four of the six Maoists who carried out the attack were from ], the police were told. Rayagada SP Ashis Kumar Singh said Surendra Brekwada alias Dasu, who surrendered with his wife Ruppi Pidikka alias Jaya, told them that a six-member "crack team" of the Maoists, led by Orissa CPI (Maoist) leader Azad alias Duna Keshav Rao, reached Jalespeta Ashram on 23 August evening and came across four lathi-wielding policemen. Brekwada, a sharpshooter, was one of the six who allegedly killed the 82-year-old Laxmanananda, Kishore Baba (45), Amritananda Baba (62), Mata Bhaktimayee (40) and Puranjan Ganthi (28), brother of one of the girl inmates of the tribal residential school.<ref>
	On 6 October 6 2008, the Orissa police announced they arrested two Christian tribal's in connection with the murder of Swami. The CID official said that about seven to eight Maoist hardliners were also involved in the murder. <ref> Indian Express - October 7, 2008</ref>.
			Indian Express 25 July 2009
			{{webarchive \|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828092605/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoist-recalls-final-moments-of-laxmanananda-claims-cops-fled/493992/ \|date=28 August 2009 }}</ref>

			In spite of claims that the case of Saraswatiji's murder has been solved, it is widely believed to be a cover up, based on doubts expressed by several senior investigators and experts on left-wing extremism.<ref> Rediff News
	On 16th October in an in interview to PTI the IG police Mr Arun Ray told that "Maoists were given money to train certain youth of a particular community to eliminate Saraswati," The plan to eliminate Saraswati was made immediately after the December, 2007 communal violence in Kandhamal, he added. Elaborating the probe by the crime branch, Ray said investigations also showed that a group had collected money from some villages in Kandhamal which was given to the Maoist group to train their youth for the purpose. The police said that they already arrested three persons who belong to the extremist groups and efforts were now on to arrest the other accused.<ref> Press Trust of India - October 16, 2008</ref><ref>{{cite press release
			</ref> ], national co-convener of the ], refused to accept that the Maoists were responsible, saying "Why all of a sudden so many days after the incident has come and spoken to the television channels?".<ref>{{cite journal \|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-10-05-2441197418_x.htm \|journal=] \|title=Report: Maoists say they murdered Hindu leader \|date=10 May 2008 \|access-date=21 April 2012}}</ref>
	\| title = Maoists hired to kill Laxmanandas Orissa police

	\| Author = PTI
			==Convictions==
	\| publisher = Rediff
			On 30 September 2013, Additional district judge Rajendra Kumar Tosh at an Additional district and sessions court in ] convicted seven Pano Catholics <ref name=CTAus>{{cite news\|title=Indian Christians sentenced to life for Orissa killing will appeal\|url=http://au.christiantoday.com/article/indian-christians-sentenced-to-life-for-orissa-killing-will-appeal/16340.htm\|access-date=1 November 2013\|newspaper=Christian Today Australia\|date=22 October 2013}}
	\| date = 17 October, 2008<!--, 2128 hrs IST-->
			</ref><ref name=BosNewsLife>{{cite news\|title=India Christians Appeal Lifetime Sentence For 'Murder' Hindu Leader\|url=http://www.bosnewslife.com/30934-india-christians-appeal-lifetime-sentence-for-murder-hindu-leader\|access-date=1 November 2013\|newspaper=BosNewsLife\|date=18 October 2013}}
	\| language = English
			</ref><ref name=MNN>{{cite news\|title=Pray for the end of legal persecution in India\|url=http://www.mnnonline.org/article/19109\|access-date=1 November 2013\|newspaper=Mission Network News\|date=17 October 2013\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104053059/http://www.mnnonline.org/article/19109\|archive-date=4 November 2013\|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/swami-lakshmanananda-murder-questionable-convictions\|title=The questionable convictions in the case of Swami Lakshmanananda's murder\|last=M\|first=Rahul\|date=October 2017\|website=]\|language=en\|access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref> for the murder: Gadanath Chalanseth, Bijaya Kumar Shyamseth, Buddha Nayak, Sanatan Badamajhi, Duryadhan Sunamajhi, Bhaskar Sunamajhi and Munda Badamajhi.<ref>{{cite web \| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maoist-leader-convicted-in-laxmanananda-murder-case/article5189513.ece\| title = Maoist leader convicted in Laxmanananda murder case \| date = 31 October 2013 \| newspaper = The Hindu }}</ref> However, on 1 October 2013, the same court also convicted a ] leader from ] for the same crime.
	\| url = http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/17orissa.htm

	}}</ref>
			Six days later the same court set free five accused who were being tried for burning of a Catholic house in the riots following the murder. Sajan George, president of Global Council of Indian Christians alleged that the court is biased against the Dalit Catholic minority.<ref name=CTAus/> The defence lawyer, S.K. Padhi said that the ruling would be appealed against in the ].<ref>{{cite press release \| title = Life term for 8 in Lakshmananda Murder case \| work = The Hindu \| date = 1 October 2013 \| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/life-term-for-8-in-lakshmanananda-murder-case/article5196179.ece \| access-date = 4 October 2013 }}</ref>
	<ref>http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/17/stories/2008101757661200.htm</ref>

			==See also==
			*]
			*]

	==References==		==References==
	{{reflist\|2}}		{{reflist\|2}}

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	==External links==
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Latest revision as of 16:32, 28 December 2024

Murder of Lakshmanananda Saraswati
Part of persecution of Hindus and religious violence in Odisha
KandhamalKandhamal (Odisha)
Location	Kandhamal, Odisha
Coordinates	20°28′N 84°14′E / 20.47°N 84.23°E / 20.47; 84.23
Date	23 August 2008
Target	To assassinate Lakshmanananda Saraswati
Attack type	Mass murder Assassination
Weapons	Ak-47 and other revolvers
Deaths	5 (including Lakshmanananda Saraswati)
Perpetrators	8
Assailants	7 Christians and 1 Maoist leader

Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati
Born	c. 1926 Talcher
Died	23 August 2008(2008-08-23) (aged 81–82) Tumudibandha Kandhamal, Odisha India
Cause of death	Assassination
Nationality	Indian

Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati (c. 1926–23 August 2008) and four of his disciples were murdered on 23 August 2008 in the State of Odisha in India. Saraswati was a tribal activist Hindu monk and a Vishva Hindu Parishad leader. Seven Catholic Panos and one Maoist leader were convicted in the case.

Previous attack

Saraswati was on his way to visit Brahmanigoan village when a bus belonging to Sugriba Singh, a Catholic Pano leader and Biju Janata Dal Member of Parliament (Lower House) obstructed the road. Saraswati was attacked on the spot- Saraswati, his driver and his security guard had all sustained injuries. In a statement, Saraswati had identified Radha Kanta Nayak, an Indian National Congress Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, as being involved in the attack. Nayak also served as chief of the Christian-evangelical organisation World Vision. Saraswati had further stated that this was the seventh time that they had failed to kill him.

Threat

Saraswati received an anonymous threat only a week before his assassination. Ashram authorities also filed a First Information Report (or FIR) with the local police. However, no steps were taken to provide appropriate security cover to him, despite ample evidence that there were very real threats being made on his life and the lives of those he served. The Government of Odisha later admitted that lapses might have occurred in his security and would place Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Nikhil Kanodia and officer-in-charge of Tumudibandha police station Jena under suspension.

Assassination

Saraswati was murdered on Janmashtami Day of 2008 while visiting with pupils at the Kanya Ashram (a residential girls' school) in Tumudibandh, about 100 km from Phulbani, the district headquarters of Kandhamal district. Four of his disciples, including a boy, were also killed by gunfire.

The Kanya Ashram housed 130 girls on the day of the Janmashtami festival and many of the girls were witness to the killing, as reported by Indian Express. A group of thirty to forty armed men surrounded the Ashram. Four of the assailants carried AK-47s and many others had locally-made revolvers. Two of the four government-provided security guards had gone home to eat, and the assailants tied and gagged the two remaining guards.

Civil disorder and riots

Further information: 2008 Kandhamal violence

Hundreds of people gathered on the route to pay their last respects to Saraswati. Riots erupted when the procession passed through localities with Catholic populations. Catholics, who were perceived to be Indian National Congress party supporters, were targeted everywhere; in some places many Hindu families were also attacked because they were Congress supporters. The attackers included activists of the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and other Sangh Parivar organisations, and workers of the BJP that was a partner in the government headed by Naveen Patnaik. The violence also saw attacks on Catholics who belonged to the Pano Scheduled Castes and on people who claimed tribal status on the grounds that they spoke the Kui language of the Khond tribal people. The Kui Samaj, which unites members of the native Kondh tribe (both Hindus and Protestant Khonds) in Kandhamal, was found to be leading the attacks on Catholic Panos.

Investigations

The government announced a special investigative probe into the attack.

The police arrested Pradesh Kumar Das, an employee of the Indian branch of World Vision, a Christian charity organisation, from Khadagpur while escaping from the district at Buguda. In another drive, two other persons, Vikram Digal and William Digal, were arrested from the house of Lal Digal, a local militant Catholic, from Nuasahi at Gunjibadi, Nuagaan. They have admitted to having joined a group of twenty-eight other assailants.

On 28 August, a letter of denial was received by some media outlets, the VHP office in the Gajapati District of Orissa and the Bajrang Dal from a Maoist group. While the letter denied that the Central Committee of the Kotagarha branch of the Maoists had approved the attack, it claimed that some Maoists may have been bribed by Pano Catholics to launch the attack. Soon after the appearance of the aforementioned letter, Azad, a leader of the Maoist People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, claimed responsibility for the murder of Lakshmanananda. Azad was suspected by the police of leading the attack himself. On 9 September 2008 the Maoists, who work underground, made an official press release claiming responsibility for the killing of Saraswati. A few claims that Maoist sympathizers of south Orissa had initially denied the role of CPI-Maoist were made in the murder of VHP leaders that sparked off communal violence in Kandhamnal district. Communist Party of India (Maoist) leader Sabyasachi Panda claimed that they killed Saraswati and four of his disciples at his Jalespeta ashram on 23 August. In March 2009 police arrested Central Committee and Politburo member of CPI (Maoist), Ashutosh Tudu for murder of Saraswati.

On Wednesday 22 July 2009, a young Maoist couple, Surendra and Ruppi Pidikka alias Jaya Venkwara claimed to have been involved in the Saraswati's killing and surrendered to the Orissa police.

Reconstructing the final moments of the killing of VHP leader Laxmanananda and his four disciples in Kandhamal's Jalespeta ashram in August 2008, Orissa police said that a Maoist who surrendered this week claimed there were four policemen at the ashram but they fled when the Maoists announced that they had come looking for the Saraswati. Four of the six Maoists who carried out the attack were from Chhattisgarh, the police were told. Rayagada SP Ashis Kumar Singh said Surendra Brekwada alias Dasu, who surrendered with his wife Ruppi Pidikka alias Jaya, told them that a six-member "crack team" of the Maoists, led by Orissa CPI (Maoist) leader Azad alias Duna Keshav Rao, reached Jalespeta Ashram on 23 August evening and came across four lathi-wielding policemen. Brekwada, a sharpshooter, was one of the six who allegedly killed the 82-year-old Laxmanananda, Kishore Baba (45), Amritananda Baba (62), Mata Bhaktimayee (40) and Puranjan Ganthi (28), brother of one of the girl inmates of the tribal residential school.

In spite of claims that the case of Saraswatiji's murder has been solved, it is widely believed to be a cover up, based on doubts expressed by several senior investigators and experts on left-wing extremism. Subash Chouhan, national co-convener of the Bajrang Dal, refused to accept that the Maoists were responsible, saying "Why all of a sudden so many days after the incident has come and spoken to the television channels?".

Convictions

On 30 September 2013, Additional district judge Rajendra Kumar Tosh at an Additional district and sessions court in Phulbani convicted seven Pano Catholics for the murder: Gadanath Chalanseth, Bijaya Kumar Shyamseth, Buddha Nayak, Sanatan Badamajhi, Duryadhan Sunamajhi, Bhaskar Sunamajhi and Munda Badamajhi. However, on 1 October 2013, the same court also convicted a Maoist leader from Andhra Pradesh for the same crime.

Six days later the same court set free five accused who were being tried for burning of a Catholic house in the riots following the murder. Sajan George, president of Global Council of Indian Christians alleged that the court is biased against the Dalit Catholic minority. The defence lawyer, S.K. Padhi said that the ruling would be appealed against in the Odisha High Court.

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