A five-member Congress delegation on Sunday criticised Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for the killing of five innocent tribals and Dalits on July 8 by security personnel engaged in anti-Maoist operations in Kandhamal district.
Senior Congress leaders Kishore Chandra Deb and Jairam Ramesh, who visited Gumudumaha village on Saturday and interacted with the family members of those killed and the injured, said that Mr. Patnaik should own moral responsibility since the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Odisha police was involved in the incident.
“The security personnel responsible for the killings should be taken to task,” said Mr. Ramesh. Pointing out that such incidents had taken place in Kandhamal, Nuapada and Kalahandi districts, both Mr. Deb and Mr. Ramesh demanded that Mr. Patnaik take concrete preventive steps.
“Killing innocent people in the name of fighting Maoists gives enough proof that Naveen Patnaik wants an Adivasi-mukt Odisha,” charged Mr. Ramesh.
The Congress leaders said that they would soon submit a report to the party leadership and raise the issue in Parliament.
Another member of the team alleged that it was clear that the villagers had been targeted and not caught in the crossfire.
