An injured man being taken to hospital in Orissa’s Rudangia village. (PTI)

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 30: A 45-year-old woman was hacked to death by a mob as fresh clashes broke out in Orissa’s Kandhamal district where Christians have been under attack for over a month.

The raid on the Christian-dominated village was carried out this morning, a few hours after the Prime Minister described similar attacks as “national shame” to ward off criticism from European leaders in Paris.

Kandhamal superintendent of police S. Praveen Kumar told The Telegraph that Ramani Nayak was killed by a mob that attacked Rudangia under G-Udaygiri police station.

Police sources said Nayak was a Christian.

Curfew has been clamped in nine of the 12 blocks in the district, and 13 people, including three RSS leaders, have been arrested. Some traders were also among the arrested, which prompted shops to down shutters.

Eight persons were grievously injured in a clash that started after the mob attacked the village, the SP said. Police sources said villagers fought back when the attackers tried to ransack their homes and set them ablaze. About 100 houses were torched and a church damaged, the sources added.

Some of the injured — from both the Hindu and Christian communities — suffered bullet wounds while others had injuries inflicted by sharp-edged weapons like axe, the sources said. They have been taken to MKCG Medical College and Hospital at Berhampur.

Police have been deployed at sensitive locations in the district, SP Kumar said.

Kandhamal collector Krishna Kumar blamed “outsiders” for the attack. He said the police, led by the superintendent, had rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the incident from Paris and appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said Singh had advised the Orissa government to maintain vigil and ensure law and order and protection to the life and property of all citizens.

The renewed violence comes two days after Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced a special package for the strife-torn Kandhamal and the administration began peace efforts.

At a secretariat meeting this afternoon, Patnaik described the incident as unfortunate. “Those who indulged in violence will be dealt with strictly,” the chief minister said.

Director-general of police G.C. Nanda dubbed the attack a “stray” incident. “It’s not practically possible to deploy police force in all 2,500 villages of the district,” he said.

As many as 32 people have been killed in the continuing communal violence in the state that had followed the murder of VHP leader Laxamananda Saraswati on August 23.