Bhubaneswar, Jan. 5: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today tried to buy peace by enhancing compensation for the victims of Monday’s clashes, but it did little to douse the seething anger of tribals over the severed hands of five of the dead.

The tribals were left numb when bodies of four men and the lone woman handed over to them by police had their wrists chopped off. The five were among 13 killed during a protest against inadequate compensation for land acquired by the government for a Tata Steel plant in Kalinga Nagar.

A day before his likely visit to the carnage spot, Patnaik raised the ex-gratia amount for the relatives of the dead from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Each of the 32 injured, who were not offered assistance earlier, will be given Rs 50,000 each.

One member of each affected family will also be given a job in the government or a public sector undertaking. One of the demands of the agitating tribals was jobs in the proposed plant.

In the evening, the chief minister shifted the collector and the superintendent of police of Jajpur, under which Kalinga Nagar falls. But the tribals continued to squat on the Duburi-Chandikhol road.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren, who visited Kalinga Nagar today, said the police chased the tribals and killed them like dogs.

Jharkhand bandh

The Opposition parties in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have called a day-long bandh on Saturday to protest against acquisition of land for industry and the Orissa firing.