TV
August 23 may not ring a bell for you. But whenever the date arrives, the followers of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and inmates of Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal can still feel the shiver running down their spines.
August 23, 2008. On this date, some assailants brutally murdered Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four of his followers. The incident then shocked the nation, so much so that the then BJP-BJD coalition government in Odisha collapsed. Playing a secularism card, BJD chief Naveen Patnaik then snapped ties with the BJP.
In the month-long riot that followed the killing of Saraswati, at least 38 people were killed. The case was first probed by the Crime Branch, and then by the Panigrahi Commission, Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra Commission and in 2012, by Justice AS Naidu. Justice Naidu Commission even submitted its report to the then-BJD government. But the government didn’t make it public.
With the Orissa High Court accepting advocate Debashish Hota’s plaint wherein he demanded for CBI enquiry into the killing of Saraswati and issuing a notice to the state government, the hope of the law’s long hand reaching out to the accused has rekindled.
Even the Mohan Majhi-led BJP government has also announced that the case will be reopened.
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“Then we were demanding for CBI enquiry. During the investigation, fewer evidences were collected and more were destroyed. The state government will take a decision with respect to what steps can be taken after 16 years,” said Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari.
Responding to the Revenue Minister’s statement, BJD MLA Ashwini Patra said, “What the previous government did or didn’t do is immaterial. What matters is they are in power and they will decide what they will do.”
At the memorial meeting organised at Phulabani by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the attendees remembered Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and, at the same time, expressed anger for the assailants being still at large.
“When Swamiji was alive, he mentioned some persons’ names saying they might kill him. Those persons have not been included in the purview of the investigation. The previous 24-year-long government did nothing. Without testing the patience of the Hindus, justice should immediately be provided to Swamiji,” said Mahesh Sahu, General Secretary of VHP, Odisha.
“Those who killed Swamiji and those who spent money have not been arrested. If CBI investigates, the real culprits will be arrested,” said Priyanath Sharma, eastern region head of VHP.
Kandhamal MP Sukant Panigrahi said he will look into how the state and the central governments will initiate the probe. “In the past, I met Home Minister Amit Shah and submitted papers and proofs against the accused. Soon, CBI will investigate the case,” said Panigrahi.
