Sonia forms 5-member panel to probe Kandhamal incident

New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi today constituted a five-member committee to visit and study the situation in Odisha's Kandhamal district and find the facts that led to the death of five persons in police firing on July 8.

Former Union Minister V Kishore Chandra Deo, besides sitting MPs and former Ministers Jairam Ramesh, K H Muniyappa, Vincent Pala and Arun Oraon are members of the panel, Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said.

Five villagers, including two women and a child, were killed during exchange of fire between Special Operation Group (SOG) jawans and Maoists at Malapanga forest in Kandhamal district on July 8.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has already directed a Special Investigation Team of the State Human Rights Protection Cell to probe the incident.

BJP has already set up a three-member panel of MPs that includes party vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, national secretaries Jyoti Dhurve and Ramvichar Netam to look into the Kandhamal incident and visit the spot to probe the incident and submit a report to party President Amit Shah. PTI SKC