Swami Laxmananand Saraswati (file picture)

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 20: Memories of one of the worst communal mayhems in Orissa’s history came hurtling back as security was tightened throughout Kandhamal today with 24 hours to go for the Janmashtami celebrations that coincide with the third anniversary of VHP leader Swami Laxmananand Saraswati’s killing in the district three years ago.

Refusing to divulge full security details because of strategic reasons, senior officials in Kandhamal asserted that there would be no compromise on the law and order front and police would be deployed in strength to ward off trouble. “We will keep an eye on the trouble makers,” said district collector Rajesh Prabhakar Patil.

The administration is not taking any chances, with the followers of Saraswati making preparations for memorial services in his honour at his ashrams in Jalaspeta and Chakapad in the tribal-dominated district. Memorial meetings recalling the contributions of the VHP leader, who was gunned down on the Janmashtami day in 2008, would also be held in other parts of the state.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashok Sahu said that on August 23, the day on which Janmashtami fell in 2008, Hindutva organisations would organise protests throughout the state against the indifferent progress of the Crime Branch investigation into the Swami Laxmananand murder case. The BJP and Hindutva outfits have had reservations about the way the probe has been conducted in the past.

While the state government has consistently maintained that the killing was the handiwork of Maoists who were unhappy with the activities of Saraswati, Hindutva outfits appear far from convinced. They continue to have their doubts in this regard despite the Crime Branch naming several Maoist leaders in its charge-sheet filed in connection with the case a few months ago.

Significantly, Azad, a senior Maoist commander named in the charge-sheet, following his surrender in Andhra Pradesh recently claimed that the order for the elimination of Saraswati was issued by the top leadership of the CPI (Maoist) in Orissa.

With memories of the riots triggered by Saraswati’s murder still lingering Kandhamal, the administration remains worried about security on Janmashtami day. Their task is likely to be made doubly difficult by the fact that Maoists, too, have stepped up their activities in the district since the death of the VHP leader. In fact, the district for the past sometime has been the happy hunting ground of top Maoist leaders including the elusive Sabyasachi Panda.