Maoists kill local Hindu leader in Orissa

Suspected Maoists on March 18 gunned down a Hindu leader in Orissa's Kandhamal district, which witnessed large-scale violence on Christians last year.

"A group of 15 to 20 armed Maoists killed Prabhat Panigrahi Wednesday night in Rudiguma village," District Superintendent of Police S. Praveen Kumar said.

"Policemen have been trying to reach the spot but they are facing difficulty because the rebels have blocked roads by felling trees," he added.

Panigrahi, a local leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu hardline organization, was earlier arrested for his involvement in the communal riots. Panigrahi was released on bail five days ago.

The slain Hindu activist was one of 14 local leaders who were named on a hit-list released by Maoists, who are at loggerheads with Hindu groups for causing "religious tensions".

On August 23, last year, Christians were murdered and churches burnt down by Hindu radicals who accused Christians of slaying a local VHP leader. Over 50,000 Christians were forced to flee the state despite the Maoists having claimed responsibility for the slaying.

Bizarrely, Hindu extremists again have linked Christians and the 'Church' in Wednesday's murder of the RSS activist.

"This is the result of the nexus between the state government on the one hand and the Christians and Maoists on the other," said Subas Chouhan, leader of another Hindu hardline group, Bajrang Dal.

For the past several years, Orissa has been India's most dangerous state for Christians. In 1999, a Hindu mob killed Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two children by burning them in their car in Orissa.