Peaceful Christmas celebrated in Kandhamal

Christians in Kandhamal celebrated a peaceful Christmas even as a fringe group planned a procession on December 25.

Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar said there was no untoward incident from any part of the state.

Security was beefed up at places of worship and Christian-populated areas to prevent riots in the communally sensitive district.

The Kui Samaj Seva Samiti (KSSS), a radical Hindu outfit, earlier had announced a procession on the Christmas day.

The procession was to observe the death anniversary of a tribal who was killed in the riots at Barkhama village in Baliguda block.

The plan was however dropped after officials warned it would instigate mobs to violence.

Kandhamal had witnessed riots during Christmas in 2007 and after the killing of VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati in August, 2008.

Although no major violence was brought to light this year, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported of an incident where unidentified miscreants set fire to the car of a missionary on Dec. 25.

The car of Baptist missionary Suranjan Nayak was set afire in district headquarter hospital premises but no injury to anyone was reported, Inspector In-charge of Phulbani town police station, S C Panda, was quoted saying.

Panda said police was rushed to the site and efforts were on to nab the culprits.