Cong leader dubs govt as co-conspirator in riot

Mishra said this while deposing before the Judicial Commission headed by Justice S C Mohapatra after being summoned by the panel basing on his statement made in the assembly as the deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party. "In my statement, I informed the commission that the state government was co-conspirator in the riot that took place on the night of December 24, 2007," Mishra said.

Mishra said a group of Christians including local church leaders had met the then superintendent of police and collector of Kondhmal before the violence and informed them about the volatile situation there. But they did not take any action to prevent the riot, he alleged. Accusing the state`s BJD government of acting hand in gloves with the rioters, Mishra said the then SP and Collector should have been punished for negligence. "Inaction on part of the government in the 2007 riot led to killing of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati and a massive violence in the aftermath," he claimed.