Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Thursday tabled the PK Mohanty
Commission of Inquiry and the action-taken report on the 2016 Kalinga Nagar
police firing incident that claimed the lives of 13 tribals and left many
injured.
The incident took place on January 2,2006, when local tribals opposed land-levelling work for Tata Steel’s factory demanding adequate compensation following displacement and land acquisition. During the face-off, a group of irate locals hacked constable GopaL Mohanty to death. Subsequently, police opened fire, killing 13 people.
Holding local political leaders and NGOs responsible for taking undue advantage of the uneasiness among the tribals and worsening the situation, the probe report said
various projects meant for development of the project affected people need to be taken up and compensation to those injured be provided. It also recommended jobs to at least one family member of each deceased person.
The Odisha government had appointed Justice P K Mohanty as Commission
of Inquiry to probe into the incident. The Commission, which
submitted its report to the government on July 3, 2015, did not find
anyone guilty. The report was accepted by the government after a
thorough examination, official sources said.
