Now Missing Report On 2008 Killing Of Vhp Leader In Odisha Mentioned Conversion Naxal Activity Probe Panel Chief

Odisha’s Kandhamal district in August 2008, contained references to religious conversion among several factors that contributed to social tensions in the region, Justice Naidu told The Indian Express.

The two-volume report, running over 1,500 pages, was submitted to the Odisha government in December 2016. The commission examined around 300 witnesses and received 825 affidavits during the course of its inquiry.

The alleged disappearance of the report from the Chief Minister’s Office during the transition of power in June 2024, when the current BJP government took over from the previous BJD regime, had triggered a political controversy, and a case was registered based on a complaint filed by the state government. This week, the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate initiated an investigation into the case.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Justice (retd) A S Naidu, who headed the one-member commission, said the report referred to religious conversions among tribal and Scheduled Caste communities as one of the factors behind social tensions in Kandhamal.

“Religious conversion was only one of the issues examined by the commission. The report also dealt with Naxal activities, social stigma, socio-economic issues, geographical isolation of tribal communities and disputes relating to the issuance of Scheduled Caste certificates,” Naidu said.

The commission was tasked with throwing light on the circumstances that led to the killing of the VHP leader. Justice Naidu said the commission had highlighted “systemic failures” and made recommendations to the government to prevent similar incidents in future.

Laxmanananda Saraswati, who was 84 when he was killed, had been working in Kandhamal since the late 1960s and had established an ashram at Chakapada. The killing triggered large-scale communal violence in the district, leaving at least 39 people dead.

A sessions court in Kandhamal in October 2013 convicted eight people in the VHP leader’s murder case, including Maoist leader P Rama Rao alias Uday, and sentenced them to rigorous imprisonment for life.

Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra was initially appointed to head the inquiry into the circumstances that led to the killing, but Justice Naidu took over after Mohapatra’s death in 2012.

As part of the current investigation into the alleged disappearance of Justice Naidu’s probe report, sources said a special police team visited the state secretariat and recorded statements of officials. Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said investigators were collecting evidence to determine when the reports went missing, who was responsible for their custody and whether there was any motive behind their disappearance.

The issue has also sparked a political row. Odisha Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari accused the previous BJD government of “intentionally” making the reports disappear to conceal administrative lapses.

BJD leader Munna Khan questioned why the matter is being raised nearly two years later and alleged a political motive behind the BJP government’s action.

Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha. His interests are in politics, policy and people’s stories. He tweets at @bisoyisujit87 ... Read More