Situation remains tense in Koraput

Koraput (Orissa), Sep. 8 (ANI): Orissa's tribal-dominated Koraput district remained tense on Tuesday, a day after a man was killed in a clash, which broke out between the two factions of the Maoist backed tribal outfit, Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh (CMAS).

The densely forested Narayanpatna and Bandhugaon regions have been witness to violent fights between the members of the two factions for past some days.

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Involved in forcible acquisition of lands from non-tribal farmers for past three months the outfit is now ridden with violent factionalism, one belonging to Bandhugaon and other to Naraynapatna.

"We were going to talk to them (people from Narayanpatna) asking them not to fight but they had planned to attack us. They suddenly attacked us; one of our people was injured. They killed one person and misbehaved with the ladies," said Hari Lara, a villager in Bandhugaon region.

On Sunday, a group of tribals blocked the stretch between Bandhugaon and Narayanpatna, making movement impossible.

Both the groups have been involved in forcible acquisition of lands from the non-tribals in a bid to restore the land to the tribals.

The officials however said that they are trying to calm the situation.

"There was a clash between two groups, we are trying to calm them. The media is sensitising it. We are trying to restore normalcy in the region," said Gadadhara Parida, District Collector, Koraput.

In the past three months, they had acquired around 3,000 acres of non-tribal land in both these regions and distributed it amongst the tribals.

The unrest had also prompted many non-tribals to flee the region. (ANI)