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CPI(M) team visits arson-hit village

BHUBANESWAR: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday alleged that intelligence failure on part of police administration and pressure of land mafia led to arson of houses in Alasua village on the outskirt of the capital city.

A fact-finding team of CPI (M) on Friday visited the fire-ravaged village, which was mostly inhabited by dalits.

“Despite having the information that residents of Daruthenga village were coming to take law into their own hand, police did not go for reinforcement. It was a clear case of intelligence failure,” CPI (M) State Secretary Janardan Pati told reporters here.

The damage could have been avoided, had police acted assessing the situation, he said. CPI (M) also charged that the villagers were feeling pressure from land mafia to vacate the piece of land whose value would have been in crore of rupees.

“When a technical university could erect buildings on illegal land and government was a mute spectator, why can not these poor people be allotted the land?” Mr. Pati questioned.

Jogendra Bhoi, a resident of Bhoi sahi in Alasua village, said total land under their occupation was about seven acres. Sources said about three acres of land had been taken over by the institute from possession of these dalits.

The party demanded that the affected people should be given seven days of relief and adequate dresses and blankets. The people who carried out the heinous crime should be arrested immediately, Suresh Panigrahi, secretary of party’s Bhubaneswar unit, said.

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