By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : The sketches of two people who allegedly killed a Hindu leader and four others Aug 23 sparking communal violence in the state, were released Wednesday by the police.
“Both the suspected killers are young. While one of them is 20-25 years old, the other is between 30-35 years old,” an official of the state crime branch told IANS.
The crime branch experts have prepared the sketches on the basis of description provided by the people who witnessed the killing, he said.
Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, a central advisory committee member of the Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP) and four others were shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal district Aug 23.
The police suspect Maoist rebels killed them but some Hindu groups blamed Christians for the murder and went on rampage. Christian groups have repeatedly denied the charge.
Since the evening of Aug 23, the state has witnessed communal violence in which 17 people have died and thousands have been rendered homeless.
It forced the government to deploy police and paramilitary forces in 12 of the 30 districts of Orissa.