The judicial Commission of Inquiry probing the 2008 communal riots in Kandhamal district is likely to examine three top Maoist leaders in the near future.
The Maoist leaders to be examined by the Commission headed by Justice A.S. Naidu include Sabyasachi Panda, who is now in police custody following his arrest from Berhampur town in south Odisha last week.
Of the other two Maoist leaders to be examined by the probe panel is Paluri Rama Rao alias Uday, who is presently lodged in a jail in the district headquarters town of Phulbani in Kandhamal district.
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Uday is undergoing rigorous life imprisonment after he was convicted by a Phulbani court in the murder the VHP leader last year.
The third Maoist to be examined by Justice Naidu Commission is Dunna Keshav Rao alias Azad, an accused in the VHP leader murder case presently lodged in the Jharpada jail in Bhubaneswar.
According to official sources, the Commission is now holding talks with the State government to make necessary security arrangements for examination of the three top Maoist leaders.
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The anti-Christians riots had broke out in Kandhamal on August 24, 2008, two days after the VHP leader was allegedly killed by Maoists at his Jalespata ashram in the district.
The Commission is probing into the sequence of events and circumstances leading to the murder of the VHP leader as well as the role of individuals in precipitating the murder and the subsequent riots, and also the role of organisations, groups and agencies precipitating the communal violence and measures taken by the State government in anticipation of the riots.
While Uday has already been convicted in the case of murder of the VHP leader, Mr. Panda had claimed in September 2008 that they had committed the crime.
The Commission, which is hearing witnesses since it was constituted in 2008, is yet to complete the probe as witnesses were not appearing before it on time. It is likely to take one and a half year more to submit its final report to the State Government.